


NCT Superpower AU: PART TWO

by PeachSeoda



Series: NCT Superpower AU [2]
Category: NCT (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe, M/M, Non-Famous AU, superpower au
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-09-04
Updated: 2019-03-05
Packaged: 2019-07-06 23:24:02
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 21
Words: 34,472
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15896253
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/PeachSeoda/pseuds/PeachSeoda
Summary: The fifteen documented forces have come together...they are aware that there are others besides them out there... The time has come for them to find out why them? Why were they chosen? And who else is out there in the world...(If you have not read the 40 previous chapters in this series, please do so, otherwise nothing will make sense... To everyone who has come over from Part One, welcome back!~ Thank you for your continued support)





	1. Chapter 41: "Introduction"

The librarian pushed her cart of books. She had finished her arduous task of scanning in all the books, now all that was left was to put the books back into their respective spots on the many shelves that lined walls of the library. As she neared the last few books on the cart, she picked up an old, tattered leather bound tome…

“Hmm...I haven’t seen this taken out in a long time…” she mumbled to herself as she climbed the rungs of the track ladder, pushing off against the tall shelves to reach where the tome belonged.

She placed the tome in its respective spot on one of the shelves near the top of the floor to ceiling shelves on the second floor of the library. She nodded and dusted off her hands before descaling the ladder and pushing the cart in the direction of where the next books would need to be placed...


	2. Chapter 42: "In Search Of Answers"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry this isn't as long as you probably had hoped, but the past few days I've had more homework and things to do than I had previously when I finished and published the final chapters of part one last week, but more is coming. I'm still trying to figure out how I want to segway into their discovery of what leads them to the next steps of their journey. If you want filler chapters, let me know, and if I can find a way to work it in then I'll consider writing for it!~ Thank you for the support and patience!~

The Neo City Café had become the meeting spot for the fifteen boys, now that they, the holders of the fifteen documented forces, had been brought together, they had begun their avid search for answers to their burning questions. Any spare moment any of them had was spent researching, reading books of lore, blog posts from historians, and virtually anything and everything they could get their hands on. 

“Uggggh!” Yuta groaned in frustration as he slammed yet another history book shut.

“Still nothing?” Sicheng piped up softly from beside him.

Yuta shook his head,

“Absolutely nothing!” He shouted, throwing his hands up in frustration.

The younger male sighed as he flipped the page of the historic journal he was reading. Jaehyun knocked on the door that led into the back room before entering holding a tray of drinks.

“Anything new yet?” Jaehyun asked.

“No, not yet…” Sicheng mumbled, not looking up from the paragraph his eyes were scanning.

Jaehyun nodded and set down drinks in front of them,

“Your favorites, Oolong Plum Tea Latte for Winwin, Matcha Tea Latte for Yuta hyung.” Jaehyun said.

The two males hummed and nodded in thanks, both taking sips of their hot beverages. Jaehyun nodded before turning on his heel and leaving, heading back out into the area behind the shop counter.

“Any luck?” Johnny asked from his position in front of the espresso machine.

“Nope. Still nothing… But there has to be something out there that can help us right hyung?” Jaehyun asked the elder.

Johnny sighed shaking his head as he pulled the mug out from under the espresso spout to pour foamed milk into the drink,

“I hope so...even if it’s just a small clue...I hope there’s something out there.” Johnny said, a solemn look flashing across his features.


	3. Chapter 43: "Want To Grab Coffee?"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Please read the note at the end, it explains some of the inner working of this series and why I did things a certain way.  
> Thank you!~
> 
> ~Kensley

Jungwoo sighed softly as he scanned over the frantic algebra notes that sat in front of him, he had always had a habit of writing quickly in class so as not to miss anything, however he had an affinity for impeccably neat and legible notes, so he often found himself either in his dorm or in the campus library re-copying down his notes in neat handwriting and color coed gel pens. 

“PSST!”

Jungwoo heard from somewhere around him, he didn’t look up.

“PSSSST!”

He heard it again, but again didn’t think too much of it.

“PSSSSSST! Jungwoo hyung!~”

This time he jerked his head up, a small soft gasp spilling from his petal pink lips. His deep brown doe like eyes met the bright gaze and wide smile of none other than Lucas Yukhei Wong. 

“L-Lucas! What are you doing here?” he asked the taller boy sitting in front of him.

“I came to return a book, and I saw you sitting in one of the armchairs working, and I wanted to come say hi!” Lucas flashed his wide smile.

Jungwoo shut his notebook and slid it into his backpack before standing up and slinging it over his shoulders. 

“Want to go get coffee with me?” Jungwoo asked softly.

“Yeah! I’d love that!” Lucas shouted.

Jungwoo clapped a hand over the younger boy’s mouth shushing him

 

“Lucas!” he whisper shouted, “We’re in a library!” he chastised.

“Ah sorry hyung.” Lucas laughed softly.

 

The two walked to the bus station and boarded the next bus for the fairly short ride from their campus into the heart Seoul. The bus came to a halt and the pair walked off.

“Starbucks again?” Lucas quipped curiously.

“Mm...no I tried a new place last week and I liked it, I want to take you there.” Jungwoo said.

Lucas nodded. Jungwoo gently tugged at his wrist, indicating the younger to follow him. Shortly after the two stood across the street from a sleek and modern looking café.

“Is that it?” Lucas asked pointing at the building across the street, a sign outside with “The Neo City Café” written across it in stylized font.

Jungwoo nodded,

“They have a really nice vibe inside, and the food is actually really delicious.” He elaborated.

Lucas’ eyes glittered at the mention of good food, Jungwoo noticed this and laughed softly,

“I knew you’d like the sound of that. Come on~” He said as he tugged the younger boy’s hand and crossed the street with him.

 

The two were greeted by the aromatic scents of freshly ground coffee beans, and fresh baked pastries as they walked through the door of the café.

“Welcome to the Neo City Café!~” a young man called out from where he was preoccupied behind the service counter, not looking up.

Jungwoo and Lucas approached the counter, glancing over the menu.

“What do you reccomend?” Lucas asked the elder boy beside him. 

“Lucas, I’ve only been here once...I don’t know their menu any better than you do.” Jungwoo replied. “But I had their drink called the Vanilla Chai BOSS macchiato and it was really wonderful.” he added.

“That does sound good…” Lucas hummed.

A young man with blondeish-auburn hair walked up behind the cash register a smile gracing his chiseled features, Jungwoo glanced at his nametag...Taeyong was printed across it in elegant calligraphy script.

“What can I get for you two today?” the young man asked them.

“A-ah, two Vanilla Chai BOSS macchiatos, one slice of lemon pound cake, and whatever he wants.” Jungwoo said nodding towards Lucas.

“I’ll have the New Heroes Hero sandwich please.” Lucas smiled.

The young man nodded and punched the order into the register,

“Will that be all?” he asked.

Jungwoo nodded.

“Your total is 12700 won.” the young man said.

Jungwoo swiped his debit card and thanked the young man before walking to an empty table booth with Lucas. Lucas looked around, taking in everything from the geometric shaped decorations that adorned some of the areas on the walls, to the small succulents that were littered on the windowsills and the service counter.

“It’s nice isn’t it?” Jungwoo asked.

“Yeah it’s really modern and peaceful...I would have never known this place existed, thank you for suggesting this place hyung.” he piped up cheerfully. 

A few minutes later another young man with jet black hair, considerably younger than the man who took their order, came up to their table with a tray. 

“Two Vanilla Chai BOSS Macchiatos?” the server asked.

Jungwoo and Lucas both raised a hand, the server set a mug down in front of each of them.

“One slice of lemon pound cake?” the server asked.

Jungwoo held up his hand, the server slid the plate in front of him.

“One New Heroes Hero Sandwich?” the server asked. 

“Yeah that’s me.” Lucas said.

The server slid the plate in front of him, tucking the serving tray under his arm.

“Enjoy…” the server smiled, walking back behind the service counter, and through a door to the back of the café.

 

The two talked happily as they finished up their food and drinks.

“You were right Jungwoo, this place is really nice, I want to come back some time with you.” Lucas smiled at the older boy.

“I’d like that Xuxi~” Jungwoo smiled softly over the rim of his mug, eyes flicking over to the clock on the wall behind Lucas. “Ah we should head back, I have some work to finish.” Jungwoo added.

Lucas nodded, standing up with the shorter male, and tentatively slipping his large hand in the other male’s smaller one, earning him a confused look. Lucas just smiled and gently squeezed his hand as they walked out of the café together.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay so you're probably wondering why Lucas is a freshman in college and Mark is still in high school. The way I have this set is as if Lucas started school at a younger age, so he should be a senior in high school like Mark since they're the same age, but since he started early he's just young for being a college freshman. I hope that makes sense, I did it this way since Lucas is born in January, so he just missed being a part of the 98 line, and as you may have noticed, I have the lines grouped together. The reason Lucas is with Jungwoo in all my groupings, is because he was still undebuted when I first started writing this and I wasn't sure if he'd ever be added. Hence why he doesn't know Mark yet, because with how and when I started this series, NCT only had 15 members, which is why there are missing and blank pages in the notebook Johnny and Taeyong found in Part One


	4. Chapter 44: "Even Families Fight Sometimes..."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

>  **PLEASE READ!!!**  
>  _I am SO sorry it's taken me literally two months to update this...I've been INSANELY busy with college, mainly because I'm taking 19 credit hours this semester, so I literally have had like no time to write. However when I did, I was at a drawing blank because I had some research I needed to do for some things that are coming up in the next chapters and because I've been so slammed with school, I haven't had time to finish that research. But today I had a little spare time and since I posted a new NCT fic series that I've been writing in the past two months this has been on hiatus, I figured I should finish my research and put up a new chapter. So I finished the research, and wrote this! I hope you enjoy it! Let me know what you think and this time leave your guesses for what I have in store..._  
>  _Forever Your Author,_  
>  _~Kensley_

      It had been about a month since the fifteen holders of the fifteen documented and known forces had come together as one. Making it almost the end of February, meaning after a month of researching for any kind of hints or answers as a whole groups has passed by as well...and yet?...still nothing...

“ **ARRRGHHH!** ” Ten yelled as he slammed the book he had been reading against the table in the back room of the Neo City Cafe, which had become the boys’ meeting spot.

     The other boys who were currently seated at the table flinched at the sudden noises of aggression and whipped their heads up in Ten’s direction.

“IT’S BEEN A WHOLE MONTH SINCE WE CAME TOGETHER AND STARTED RESEARCHING! WHY CAN’T WE FIND ANYTHING?!” Ten shouted in frustration as he gripped his hair.

“Woah...cool it Ten...I mean yeah it’s frustrating but getting worked up over it like that won’t solve any of our issues or guide us to the answers we seek.” Taeil soothed rationally.

      Ten grumbled to himself as he flopped back down into his chair, glaring daggers at the book he had just slammed shut. He sighed dramatically before slumping over the surface of the table with a grandiose exhale. Doyoung rolled his eyes at the other.

“Why do you insist on being so over dramatic over the slightest inconvenience? Honestly it’s not that deep.” Doyoung huffed as he flipped the page of the historical dissertation he was reading.

      Ten lifted his head and scowled at the boy with jet black wavy hair across from him.

“I don’t recall asking for your opinion Doyoung.” Ten snarked at the other.

“That’s enough you two-” Taeil started to speak before being cut off.

“You didn’t but it was a point that needed to be made.” Doyoung challenged.

      Ten shot up out of his chair, leaning in across the table;

“Oh you _really_ want to fight me huh bunny boy?” Ten taunted.

      Doyoung shot up out of his chair in return;

“You know maybe it’s about _time_ you learn to keep your mouth shut! I’d be happy to teach you asshole!” Doyoung fired back.

“That’s enou-” Taeil tried to interject again, only to be drowned out but the two younger males.

“OH _REALLY_ I’M THE ASSHOLE HERE?! YOU NEED TO CHECK YOURSELF BECAUSE YOU’RE NOT AS FUCKING PERFECT AND PRIM AS YOU LIKE TO THINK YOU ARE BITCH!” Ten yelled in retaliation as he pointed an accusing finger at Doyoung.

“NO, _YOU_ NEED TO CHECK _YOURSELF_ BECAUSE LAST TIME I CHECKED YOU DRINK YOURSELF INTO OBLIVION SOME NIGHTS BECAUSE YOU DON’T KNOW HOW TO PUT THE DAMN BOTTLE DOWN!” Doyoung yelled back narrowing his eyes at the other.

      Ten visibly flinched back at this, hurt flashing in his eyes before he saw red.

“YOU DON’T FUCKING KNOW WHAT IT’S LIKE TO CONTROL TIME YOU ASSHOLE! THERE’S REASONS TO FUCKING DRINK TO FORGET WHAT IT DOES TO YOU!” Ten retaliated defensively.

“OH I DON’T WANT TO HEAR IT TEN! YOU CAN LITERALLY BEND TIME TO YOUR WILL AND GO BACK AND CHANGE EVERY SINGLE MISTAKE YOU MAKE!” Doyoung scoffed and fired back.

“WHERE’S THE PAIN IN THA-” Doyoung started to emphasize his point when he was cut off but the sound of a fist coming in contact with the table.

“ ** _I SAID THAT IS ENOUGH!_** ” Taeil yelled at the two younger boys.

  
      Both Ten and Doyoung blinked at the other in shock...Taeil just yelled at them...Taeil never yells… Their eyes flicked downwards to the Taeil’s fist that was still planted firmly on the table… There curling around his fist were thick brambles and thorned vines. The two were frankly stunned...Taeil had incredible control over his abilities... _were they exposing themselves because of his emotions? Had they really set their hyung off that badly?..._

  
      The elder followed their gazes down to his right hand on the table. His eyes widened and he immediately ripped his hand from the thick thorn covered vines, ripping cuts into the flesh of his hand in the process. He hissed in pain, immediately clutching his hand to his chest.

“H-hyung!” Doyoung stammered out towards the other, only now grasping what he was witnessing.

“It’s fine.” Taeil mumbled, still holding his hand to his chest…

      Doyoung squinted at the sight, catching sight of a small rivulet of crimson that slowly leaked between the cracks of the elder’s fingers...he was bleeding…

  
      Ten and Doyoung glanced at each other wide eyed, _what did they do now?_ Ten could rewind time and prevent this all from happening...Doyoung could go heal the elder, but he didn’t want to set Ten off again… Ten cleared his throat softly, grabbing Doyoung’s attention. Doyoung looked over at him, Ten nodded in the direction of Doyoung’s hands then nodded in Taeil’s direction. Doyoung mouthed an _“Are you sure?”_ to the other, earning a nod from Ten. Doyoung inhaled shakily before hesitantly approaching the elder and taking his hand…

“W-what are you doing?!” Taeil jumped at the sudden contact.

“Hyung, you’re bleeding...I can fix it…remember, it was me fixing that papercut that brought about your suspicions of whether I was one of the forces or not...that’s what caused the documented set of fifteen forces to be complete…” Doyoung said, his eyes softening as he locked his gaze with the elder.

      A wave of realization washed over Ten...he was right...even if they had their differences and argued sometimes...though most of the time it was playful banter… Doyoung was still a part of this team...and he was needed… Ten thought for a moment…

_“It can’t be all good...it really isn’t for all of us...even if he doesn’t have a downside to his abilities...he still has to hide them…” Ten thought…_

      Ten bit the inside of his lip, guilt washing over him...he shouldn’t have reacted the way he did… Doyoung opened his hands revealing the elder’s hand, now perfectly healed and laceration free. 

“Thank you Doyoung…” Taeil sighed softly.

“O-of course hyung...I-I’m sorry we let things get out of hand like that…” Doyoung apologized to the elder, guilt pooling in his eyes.

“Y-Yeah, I-I’m sorry too hyung...i-it was really uncalled for and hostile...I-I’m sorry to you too Doyoung...I didn’t mean what I said...you’re not an asshole...or a bitch…” Ten apologized.

“I forgive you...I’m sorry too Ten, I shouldn’t have said what I did...we all have our own issues and battles we fight with the responsibilities of our powers, it was uncalled for and incredibly presumptuous of me to assume and accuse you of having an easy power...you’re still someone I care about okay?...” Doyoung apologized.

      Ten offered the other a small smile before a soft awkward laugh escaped his lips…Taeil sighed at the younger two, relief washing over him, a small gracious smile gracing his features…

“I’m glad you two settled that, we’re a _team_ , we can’t be butting heads like this and creating rifts between one another. We’re a team now, we’re going to have to work together beyond how we do now in terms of research...it’s important we have each other’s backs…” Taeil said, his eyes softening towards the other.

  
“Because we’re a _family_ now…” Taeyong’s voice came from the doorway out to the back entrance.

      Taeil, Doyoung and Ten startled at the sudden presence of his voice.

“A-ah h-hyung...h-how long have you been standing there?” Doyoung stammered nervously.

      Taeyong offered the younger a soft, knowing, small smile as he walked over to where they were.

“Walked in as Taeil hyung yelled…” Taeyong admitted as he draped his fleece-lined leather jacket, and scarf over one of the empty chairs at the table.

      The the three others before him blushed in embarrassment, especially Taeil who’s cheeks were burning bright crimson at the mention of his out of character outburst. A faint laugh slipped from Taeyong’s lips as he saw how red the elder’s cheeks had become.

“He’s right...we cannot afford to turn on each other now, nor ever from now on. We’re a team yes, but we’re more than that now...we’re a _family_ …” Taeyong mused, he looked up, eyes sparkling with that fond love and affections that always pooled in his eyes when he’d speak to the other boys.

      The three stood in silence before breaking out into smiles...Taeyong was right...this was family… Hmm... _family_...they liked how that sounded....

 


	5. Chapter 45: "A New Theory Emerges…"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> _New progressions in the story!~_  
>  Forever Your Author,  
> ~Kensley 

      A week had passed since the fight between Doyoung and Ten had occurred, and all remaining tensions from the event had long since ceased. The group of fifteen had gotten back into their swing of things in their research and search for any kind of answers. The bell above the door to the Neo City Caf é as Jaehyun locked the door and flipped the sign to “closed”. He flicked off the lights and walked into the back, drying his wet hands from washing dishes off with a towel.

“Anything new yet?” he asked as he gently rubbed the washcloth against the skin of his hands.

“Still nothing.” Winwin sighed, resting his chin on the palm of his hand as he scrolled further down on the scholarly journal he was reading on his laptop.

“Maybe we’re doing something wrong?” Jeno piped up softly.

“What could we possibly be doing wrong? It’s research…” Renjun huffed, blowing his ash blonde bangs away out of his eyes.

“I don’t know…” Jeno said with a shrug.

“Hey...let's not lose hope, if our morale is down then we will lose our determination to find our answers.” Mark assured as he patted Jeno’s back.

“I guess you’re right Mark hyung…” Jeno exhaled as he turned his attention back to the files he had been reading.

  
      The room fell silent again, save for the sounds of pages turning, books closing, laptop trackpads being clicked, and keyboard keys being pressed. Soft sighs of concentration, stifled yawns, and the clicks of knuckles and other joints being cracked filled the silent void in between the mundane sounds of silent research. This had become their routine; for the younger boys they came straight from school or right after their extracurricular activities, then did their homework in the main area of the  caf é, and even indulged in some coffee or other fares of the  caf é, then they’d head to the back and research. For the elder boys, or at least the ones who didn’t work at the  caf é, or the ones not on shift that day, would come in as soon as their classes were done for the day and do their own course work before researching as well...There were several nights that after Jaehyun or one of the other boys who worked at the  caf é had locked up and closed the main area of the shop, that all of them had stayed up late into the night in the back room researching and looking for the slightest inkling of a clue that they didn’t realize how late it was until on of the younger boys received calls from their worried mothers asking where they were and why they weren’t home.

  
      Jaehyun closed the textbook he had been reading through, and sighed as he crossed the book’s title off on the list of potential resources he had written in a section of one of his notebooks that he had dedicated to research. He glanced over at Taeyong next to him, and watched as the elder reached up under his glasses to rub at his tired eyes...his tired beautiful eyes...wow...he was just so stunning no matter what...Jaehyun zoned out staring at the elder. As if Taeyong felt the younger’s gaze, he glanced over to the ash lavender headed boy next to him, flashing him a shy smile, earning himself the sight of Jaehyun's ears turning bright pink. Doyoung scoffed from a few seats away…

“ _Ugh_ you two are so stupid.” Doyoung rolled his eyes.

“Uh...rude?...” Jaehyun frowned slightly.

“Nope, completely justified, you two are _so_ obviously in love with each other and have been for **_YEARS!_** I can’t stand it anymore just fucking accept it and put us all out of our misery and get together.” Doyoung feigned annoyance.

      Jaehyun and Taeyong both blushed at this, mumbling stammered words trying to find responses to what Doyoung had just said.

“I-I mean...h-he’s n-not wrong…” Jaehyun mumbled as he messed with the corner of the pages of his notebook.

“R-really?...” Taeyong looked up at the other, his doe-like eyes glittering with hope and affection.

“W-well yeah...I’ve liked you for a really really long time Tae...e-ever since you first started come here to eat before you applied for a job…” Jaehyun confessed.

      Taeyong laughed softly, his blush growing brighter…

“I applied for the job _because_ **_you_** worked here, and I wanted to get to know the gorgeous barista who always served me.” Taeyong admitted.

      Jaehyun smiled, his dimples poking into his cheeks…

“So can I take you out sometime Taeyong?...this time more than just intimate friends?” Jaehyun asked.

“I-I would love that actually…” Taeyong laughed awkwardly.

“Thank GOD! I thought my hair would be grey by the time you two actually got together.” Doyoung groaned, a smile blooming across his face.

“Hyungs are cute together…” Jisung mumbled, smiling at his hyungs.

“They look wonderful together~” Jaemin gushed.

      The other boys joined in, making the blushes spread across Jaehyun and Taeyong’s cheeks grow brighter…

  
      Another hour passed, Chenle pouted slightly at the book in front of him that offered no information, he sighed, closed it and moved to tuck it back into his backpack… As he did so, something caught his eye, his literature class notebook… He furrowed his eyebrows in thought and gingerly took the notebook from his bag and stared at it in deep thought. Mark had caught sight of this action and cocked an eyebrow at the younger.

“Chenle?...Are you okay?” Mark asked the wavy brunette haired boy.

      Chenle said nothing, not actually registering that someone was speaking to him… He opened his notebook and flipped to one of the more recent pages of notes he had taken… There written across the top line of the page in bubble letters, just how he liked to title his notes, was the word... _Mythology_ … He scanned the page, eyes finally landing on a small list of Greek Gods and places his teacher had talked about in class. There!...The Temple of Helios…

“Hyungs...what if we’re looking for the wrong things?” Chenle asked softly as he looked up from his notebook.

“What do you mean Lele?” Taeyong asked the younger boy, cocking his head to the side, confusion pooling in his deep doe-like eyes.

“In my Literature class, we have been talking about Mythology recently, I saw my notebook in my bag just now and I remembered one of the things my teacher went over with us just now when I went to put that book back into my bag… What if it’s _not_ history and records that we’re looking for...not actual documentation of the fifteen forces and other forces like us…” Chenle continued.

      By now the whole table of boys had looked up at the young boy and were listening intently to him, watching him with intrigued eyes of immense interest. Chenle turned his notebook around for the older boys to see.

“What if the answers we seek lie not within the actual written words of historians...but within the actual world…” Chenle proposed as he pointed to his notes.

“Jeno hyung, this is The Temple of Helios, dedicated to the The Greek God of-” Chenle began.

“ ** _Light_**!” Jeno finished.

“W-wait, Chenle...that’s one case though…” Doyoung said.

“But what if...Hyung I’m sure there are places that can connect and tie back in with our powers...What if this is what we were looking for?...” Chenle pushed.

      The room fell silent…

  
      After a while, Taeyong sighed through his nose…

“It’ll cost too much money to fly to this temple together...but I think I have another idea…” Taeyong trailed off, looking up and across the table at Renjun.

      Renjun blinked, glancing around confused.

“Uh hyung?...Y-you don’t mean…” Renjun began.

“That’s _exactly_ what I mean.” Taeyong said, a smirk blooming across his face.

  
  



	6. Chapter 46: "Journey of Fifteen...Or An Attempt"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> _Two chapters in one day?! Kensley must be losing her mind! No~ I'm finally on Thanksgiving/Autumn Break~ I'm going to be writing every chance I get~ See the notes at the end for_ **IMPORTANT** details about the fic  
>  Forever Your Author,  
> ~Kensley 

      The books had been closed and the boys were all standing now

“O-okay...s-so you want me to do _**what?!**_ ” Renjun asked nervously.

“You said you can teleport if people hold onto you, kind of like how Ten can stop time for others as well if he touches them.” Taeyong said soothingly.

“Y-YEAH BUT I’VE NEVER ACTUALLY _**TRIED**_ IT!” Renjun yelped.

“Well now’s a perfect time to try.” Ten clapped the younger boy on the back.

“B-BUT WHAT IF IT DOESN’T GET US TO THE TEMPLE?!” Renjun yelled panickedly.

“You didn’t think I was asking you to try and get all of us there on your first try did you?” Taeyong asked softly, an amused smile blooming across his face.

“H-huh?...” Renjun trailed off, confused.

“Junnie, why don’t you try teleporting from one side of the room to the other with one of the boys? Then maybe two...Eventually we’ll work it up until you’re teleporting with all of us then we’ll try a further distance and build that up and we’ll keep trying until you’re ready to try and go to the temple.” Taeyong explained.

      Renjun nodded.

“I think I can do that…” Renjun said.

      Renjun took a moment, teleporting to the other side of the room as a warm up, before looking up at his friends in front of him.

“A-alright, who wants to try?” he asked.

      Taeyong instantly stepped up.

“In case it goes wrong, I’d rather something bad happen to me rather than the others.” Taeyong explained.

      He noticed fear and anxiety fill the younger boy’s eyes.

“But know you, nothing bad will happen.” Taeyong assured, ruffling Renjun’s ash blonde locks of silky hair.

      Renjun took a deep shaky breath and focused himself, before he knew it he was on the other side of the room with Taeyong cheering next to him.

“Renjunnie! You did it!” Taeyong cheered, hugging Renjun tightly.

      Renjun smiled, an embarrassed blush blooming on the apples of his cheeks at the praise. Taeyong clapped his slim hands together…

“Alright...Who’s next?” Taeyong asked, a sparkle glinting in his eyes…

  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> **IMPORTANT DETAILS ABOUT THE STORY**  
>  So the reason I was researching things is, as you saw in the last chapter, Chenle proposes a new theory for where they can find answers. Obviously finding places devoted to the natural elements and spiritualities, was fairly easy...but I had to get quite creative with the other places...In future chapters the explanations will be written in so you understand my reasoning for each place, I already have all these places and explanations written down in my special notebook devoted to my NCT AU's and my research done for this pic. I hope you enjoy all the work that has been poured into this!~  
>  _Forever Your Author,  
>  ~Kensley_


	7. Chapter 47: "The Book..."

      The early morning rays of winter sunlight drifted through the library windows, casting a soft glow on the books that lined the floor to ceiling bookshelves. However it was one particular book that seemed to just...blossom in the early morning light. The gold ivy detailing that enveloped the old leather bound tome, glittered in the early morning light.

      The sound of the track ladder being moved along it’s rails echoed through the library, shortly followed by soft creaks of certain rungs being stepped upon…

      Slim fingers wrapped around the spine of the tome and gently took it from its resting place on the high shelf. The same hand brushed at the accumulating layer of dust that was covering the front of the tome. A soft inhale and exhale of a gentle breath blowing away the accumulated debris...The gold detailing glimmered brighter than ever…

      The sounds of the ladder rungs creaking resonated through the library once more, followed by the sound of the track ladder being brought back to its original place… Shortly after, soft footsteps made their way to the library desk…

“Good morning Kun-ah~” The elderly librarian greeted the young man.

      He smiled warmly at her

 “Good morning Jang-nim” Kun responded politely.

 “Checking out a book?” She asked, a smile blooming across her wrinkled features.

 “Yes please Jang-nim.” He replied as he lifted the tome onto the counter.

      She frowned a bit and sighed.

 “Kun-ah, this book is very old and very special...for reasons I even have yet to find out. It doesn’t have a checkout slip...But I trust you...please...take care of it well…” She said seriously.

      Kun’s eyes widened a bit. He nodded and bowed deeply to her.

 “T-Thank you Jang-nim! Thank you so much!” he thanked her graciously.

      She laughed softly at the kind boy.

 “Of course Kun-ah~ Study well and stay warm!” She said before turning around to attend to the stack of books that needed to be checked in.

       Kun gingerly wrapped his arms around the tome and held it close to him… _it was time to see if they could find answers..._

 


	8. Chapter 48: "Haven't You Ever Wondered?..."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> _A new chapter! And with Kun, Jungwoo, and Lucas!~ Things are now getting tied together and the story is deepening...Leave your predictions in the comments! Or just tell me how you're liking the story, feedback always warms my heart...Also please see the notes at the bottom for_ **_majorly important information about the story_** __  
>  _Forever Your Author,_   
>  _~Kensley_

      Kun had made his way across campus to the on campus apartments, still cradling the tome against his chest. When he was approaching his building he noticed two figures standing outside the door, gentle clouds of visible breath tumbling past their lips, pale from the cold. Kun sighed; when would those two ever learn…

“Yah! Why are you two waiting out here in the cold!” Kun called out to them worriedly.

      The two figures looked over to him as he approached. The slightly taller of the two let out a loud deep chuckle, while the smaller’s eyes widened a bit in surprise, and a blush of embarrassment dusted over his already pink tinged cheeks.

“S-sorry hyung! We thought it would be rude to let ourselves into your apartment without you being there….” Jungwoo spoke softly as he rubbed at him arms to generate warmth.

“Correction, _he_ thought it would be rude.” Lucas added with a smile.

      Kun rolled his eyes at is two younger friends. He loved them so much but no matter how many time he told them they were always welcome in his apartment even if he wasn’t there, they...or rather Jungwoo always felt like he was intruding. Kun pulled his keys from his pocket and approached the complex, typing his entry number into the keypad. The doors unlocked and opened, and the three boys entered the building.

“I’m making tea for you two. No if, and, or buts about it. You two shouldn’t be out in the cold for long periods of time, especially without gloves and earmuffs...ah you two are going to worry me sick.” Kun chastised gently.

      Jungwoo laughed softly in embarrassment.

“A-ah I’m sorry Kun-hyung...y-you’re not mad a-are you?...” Jungwoo asked nervously, his anxiety getting the best of him.

      Kun noticed the younger anxiously fidgeting with the ends of his scarf, how worry pooled in his big soft eyes, how he bit his lip to hide how it trembled.

“No no of course not Jungwoo-ah...I could never be mad at you. I just am worried you two are going to get sick or hurt when I’m not around and you’re not inside...especially in harsh weather like this.” Kun elaborated.

“Gege, you worry too much!~” Lucas laughed, clapping one of his large hands against the elder’s shoulder.

“And _you_ don’t worry enough _Yukhei_. So we’re even.” Kun replied to the younger boy as he shoved his key into his apartment door, unlocking it.

  
      The three boys entered and kicked off their shoes at the door before moving to shrug off their winter wear. Kun gently placed the tome on the kitchen table and walked into his kitchen to fill the kettle and put it on to boil.

“So hyung, you said you finally found that book you have a theory about?” Jungwoo asked as he sat down that the kitchen table.

“Yeah, I accidentally stumbled across a log under the library desk when Jang-nim had me checking in books one day, and it was a really old log of this book... _but it wasn't a check out slip…_ ” Kun explained.

“What was it?” Lucas asked, resting his head on his hand at the table.

“It was a log dating when the book would disappear and reappear...my theory is that there’s something supernatural about this book...and seeing as the three of us are looking for answers as to why we are the way that we are...it was worth seeking out...so I’ve been waiting and looking for it to appear and I finally found it this morning.” Kun explained as he placed the tea leaves into the boiling kettle.

“Wow...that’s really odd...so you think why it’s supernatural has a connection to us?” Lucas asked.

      Kun nodded.

“That’s why I asked you two to come over...because now that I have it, I didn’t want to look at it without you two…” Kun said.

  
      The kettle whistled on the stove. Kun grabbed it and poured three cups of the pale magenta rose, plum oolong tea and brought them over to the table.

“Alright…” Kun inhaled.

“A-are you two ready?” He asked the other two.

      Both of them nodded. Kun sighed shakily and gingerly took hold of the cover of the tome and opened it…

  
      Inside, the pages were old and yellowed with age. They had crude edges as most old books would, and the ink scrawled across the pages in old cursive had faded from what was probably once a brilliant stark black, to a muted pale grey. _“Archives of the Deities…”_ was scrawled across the front page.

“ _Deities?_...” Jungwoo asked softly, his brows furrowing in confusion as he sat back away from the book to take a sip of his tea.

      Kun turned the page… _“Deity of Ice...Glaciesia”_ was printed in perfect faded calligraphy...he continued reading…

 

> _“Glaciesia, the deity if ice, snow, and frost...she rests a top snow peaks of mountains when in her human form of being...she wears a flowing white dress as white as snow itself, though it fades to a pale lilac towards the ends of her skirts. Despite always being in the most frigid of temperatures, she wears nothing upon her feet, and the only thing to cover her arms is a thin translucent bit of fabric draped upon her shoulders...Icicles drip from he earlobes like diamonds...ice crystals bloom around her head like a circlet crown...her hair a brilliant silver that tumbles in curls all down her back… her skin a shade of faintly blue tinged white...whenever she blinks her long white lashes, snowflakes dust upon her cheeks...she acts as one of the mother deities...loving, protective, strong...her final place on Earth she returned to lies within Mount Kailash in Tibet, atop the mountain’s highest peak.”_

      Kun’s eyebrows furrowed... _Ice?_...Lucas sighed through his nose as he shifted in his seat. Lucas had caught sight of his elder’s confused expression…

“Kun hyung...haven’t you ever wondered if there were others like us? This _tells_ us that there _is._..we _have_ to find them...then maybe...maybe we can find answers to all of this...together…” Lucas spoke gently and lowly.

“I mean...of course I’ve wondered if there were...and I was even convinced that there had to be people out there with the nature based powers...but then I started to lose hope… because I grew up searching and trying to find answers… and I never could… But now...i-it’s all here… we could find others just like us...we won’t be alone anymore…” Kun rambled on, emotion seeping into his voice.

      Jungwoo’s eyes watered seeing his hyung’s emotions on full display...They had been so lucky to find each other when they were younger… The three of them all lived on the same street growing up, and living in close proximity and catching glimpses of things that went on in the other’s lives made their secrets slip at early ages...Growing up they had been alone… Jungwoo and Kun outcasted themselves as wallflowers so as to never ever be suspected or thought of as anything more than just another face in this world… Lucas however had been better at hiding his frustration and anguish of never having answers and always lifted their spirits saying things like _“one day hyungs!~...one day I just know it!”..._

      It was hard… but hardships make hearts grow stronger… Jungwoo felt a tear slip from his right eye as he looked back down at the tome’s pages...his eyes settling on the beautiful faded sketch of what the Deity Glaciesia supposedly looked like… Lucas was right… _“one day”_ was here… and now they had to do something about it.

       
      Jungwoo wiped at his teary eyes with the sleeve of his cream colored cashmere sweater, he sniffed and sighed…

“Three friends, three powers...one family...one journey...a-and now...a-a new chapter in o-our story…” Jungwoo stuttered shakily through a teary smile.

      Lucas placed his large hand over Jungwoo’s smaller one and gently stroked his thumb along the back of his hand soothingly. Kun reached out and gently rubbed the younger’s shoulders.

“No matter what...we cannot give up now...we’ve come this far together...from today on… we are one.” Kun said.

      Lucas and Jungwoo beamed at him softly before both bolting up from their chairs and wrapping their elder in a tight hug. _This was it...their family...and now that they had received more information...it was time to see it grow._

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> **IMPORTANT INFORMATION ABOUT THE STORY**  
>  As I previously mentioned, I did a TON of research for this story and now you are finally seeing it. For each deity and place that is uncovered there is a history documented in the tome that Kun now has possession of. Each Deity has a final place on Earth from when they gave up their human physical forms for good and became one with Earth in waiting to bestow their powers onto worth righteous individuals. This tome documents these places along with the descriptions of the deities themselves, their characteristics and their appearance. However as seen in previous chapters some of the places are obvious, like The Temple Of Helios as Chenle pointed out. So as I write each chapter with new deities and new discoveries, I will add the reasonings for why I chose these specific places, and if you all want I can create visuals of the deities...I'm not exactly sure where I would post that...maybe I could make a separate section of this series for it. Anyways...here is why I chose Mount Kailash:
> 
> Mount Kailash, Tibet: Mount Kailash is part of the mountain range Gangs Rin-Po-Che. "Gangs" being the Tibetan word for "snow peak" and "Rinpoche" being the Tibetan word for "precious one", therefore when the two are put together it names it "precious jewel of snow". Mount Kailash is the highest point in the range.  
> So because it's named the "Precious Jewel of Snow" and the deity Glaciesia is characterized as being a level of beauty that is considered "otherworldly" I thought it was absolutely perfect.  
> Also I created her name "Glaciesia" from the Latin word for ice which is "Glacies"  
> I hope this all makes sense and maybe even makes the story more interesting!!!!  
> ~Kensley


	9. Chapter 49: "I Saw...A Vision..."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

>  _I just_ _ **had**_ _to make an NCT reference to Outro: Vision in this chapter's title ahaha I know my puns and references are low-key pretty lame but I hope you enjoy this chapter!~ Let me know what you think!~_  
>  _Forever Your Author,_  
>  _~Kensley_

      A few days had passed since Taeyong had proposed training Renjun into honing in on his teleportation skills with multiple people, and he had already improved greatly...with the way that they were going, they would probably be able to teleport as a whole group in two weeks or so. They were all so proud of him. Haechan smiled at the thought as he stopped in front of his locker, he put in his combination and opened it. He gingerly pulled out his coat, scarf and gloves, along with the items he needed to bring home with him. He had just been released from an after school vocal coaching lesson and was heading out to meet up with his friends at the Café, then he heard a voice behind him.

“How was your lesson?” the voice asked.

      He turned around and was greeted by none other than Mark, Jeno and Jaemin stood behind him. Haechan smiled brightly.

“It went really well, Yoon seonsaeng-nim said she gets more and more impressed with what I’m capable of each day.” Haechan said happily.

       Jaemin laughed

“Wow Haechannie in that case looks like you’ll end up stealing Mark-hyung’s title of _“Absolutely Fully Capable”_.” Jaemin said as he nudged Mark.

      Mark rolled his eyes with a laugh

“Come on, the hyungs are probably waiting for us.” Mark said, motioning for his friends and boyfriend to follow him.

      Haechan closed his locker and immediately latched onto Mark’s right arm, rubbing his cheek against his bicep. Mark laughed softly at the younger.

  
      They had arrived at the caf é a short time later, after taking a bus to get there. The entire ride Haechan had been a bit spaced out as he rested his head on Mark’s shoulder...he had been feeling the slightly odd sensation he typically feels when he’s about to have a vision he can’t control. Sure he could read minds and look into the future at will, but his abilities of foresight also came with visions he couldn’t control...They always came with a warning though… His body would feel light all over and he would begin to feel slightly distant from the world, it’s how he knew one was coming. The bus lurched to a stop, engine wheezing as the doors opened, Mark, Haechan, Jeno, and Jaemin all collected their bags and stepped off onto the sidewalk outside the café.  
      The four of them walked inside, a soft gust of cold winter air from outside blew into the café as the door opened and the boys stepped inside. Taeyong, Jaehyun and Johnny were currently the ones in staff aprons behind the counter. Jaehyun was talking to Taeyong as the elder wiped down the counter, nodding and humming every so often as he listened to his boyfriend’s low soothing voice. Johnny was pouring steamed milk into a cup of coffee, but looked up once he had finished, when he saw the four boys a smile bloomed across his face and his eyes.

“Welcome back you guys, how was school?” Johnny asked as he put the cup of coffee on a saucer, then onto a tray alongside another one.

“Winwinnie! Two Vanilla Chai BOSS Macchiatos for table nine!” Johnny called out to the younger.

      Winwin was just finishing cleaning up a table and clearing it of used dishes, then came over and took the tray, walking to the table.

      For some reason though, Haechan’s eyes lingered on him and his gaze followed him to the table… Haechan cocked his head slightly as he looked at the two boys seated at the table… One had slightly waved brunette hair that was long enough to fall just above his soft doe like eyes that sparkled with innocence...he looked up at Winwin and thanked him graciously for their drinks… The other boy had slightly lighter brunette hair, which was perfectly parted and styled, Haechan could see he was wearing blue-green contacts, and he smiled at Winwin and thanked him...he felt the feeling of an oncoming vision grow stronger…

“ _echan…..Haechan…..._ **_YAH LEE DONGHYUCK!_ ** ” a voice only now registering in his ears shook him from his thoughts.

      He looked up and saw that it was Yuta who had called him, he had walked in behind them, cheeks tinged pale pink from the cold...

“H-huh?...” He mumbled in confusion, recovering from spacing out just then.

“I greeted you guys when I walked in and everyone responded but you...I asked you if you were okay...you look really out of it Haechannie…” Yuta said.

      Haechan blinked before shaking his head to fully bring himself back to the conversation.

“Y-yeah...just spaced out…I’m sorry Yuta-hyung...” He said softly.

      The elder ruffled his hair with a soft smile before walking behind the counter.

“You’re about to have a vision aren’t you?...” Mark asked him in a whisper

      Haechan nodded, a pale blush dusting his cheeks at the notion his boyfriend and best friend could tell when he was about to have a vision. He looked back to the table… he shook his head and brushed it off.

  
      The four boys headed to the back room of the café or as they all had started calling it, “The Study”, and shrugged off their winter wear, and setting their bookbags down. The study was set up like an actual living space since it technically was, Jaehyun’s mother and grandmother lived in the penthouse that was above and connected to the café. Along the back wall was a door which led to a stairway up to the penthouse door, but only Jaehyun used it, with the exception of when his mother would come and check on the café since she owned it, or sometimes she’d even work a shift and help bake and cook. Jaehyun’s grandmother came down sometimes too, it was more rare occurrence, though after meeting the younger boys for the first time, she loved seeing them and doting on them.  
      Though the study wasn’t part of the penthouse nor the café since it was only accessible to the boys who worked at the café, or the other who had been given keys to get in through the back by Jaehyun; but it was still furnished nicely as if it was. The walls were painted a charcoal grey, and the floor was the same deep matte black wood flooring as the café. Three sizeable bookshelves lined one corner, one large long L shaped couch and three matching armchairs sat in front of the shelves. A bit further from that was their ‘meeting table’ as Chenle liked to call it, it was a large round banquet table that could seat all fifteen of them with other chairs left empty too… The study felt like a little home away from home...maybe it was because it was so cozy...maybe it was because they practically used it like a second home...or _maybe it was because their friend group really had grown to feel like a family..._

      Jeno sighed and flopped onto the couch, Jaemin joining him soon after. Doyoung who was seated a few seats over on the couch saw this and smiled fondly at the two boys.

“Long day?” he asked the two of them.

“Yeah...Coach worked us really hard today…” Jeno groaned as he rubbed at his muscles, sore from the intense use of them in his dance class at school today.

“I thought my knees were going to give out on the stairs when I walked to my next class” Jaemin whined as he kicked off his shoes.

“Remember take it easy Jaemin… You only finished your physical therapy for your ankle a month and a half ago…” Doyoung chastised gently.

“I know hyung~” Jaemin beamed at him.

      Doyoung nodded and glanced over to the table and saw Mark and Haechan sitting there alone. He hummed before getting up and walking over to them.

“Everything okay?” he asked, now since he was closer noticing Haechan didn’t seem his usually perky bright self and Mark was also more quiet than normal.

“Haechan has been feeling the signals he feels when he has an oncoming vision.” Mark explained.

      Doyoung nodded and sat in the empty chair on the other side of Haechan and gently took the younger’s hand in his and rubbed it gently. Haechan closed his eyes and sighed at the contact...he loved his boyfriend, but Doyoung hyung always was so calming in situations like these.

  
      Just as he was about to offer his hyung a gracious smile, it all hit him. The vision... Reality had instantly faded from him and he was seeing the vision through a wide vignette… the vision brought him into the main area of the café… _The café?_ He thought… it flashed and he was standing a few feet away from a table by one of the café windows… a young man was seated at the table...this was someone Haechan had definitely not met yet… He had platinum blonde hair, though Haechan couldn’t see his face...it was blurred...the young man raised his mug of coffee to his lips and took a sip...Haechan’s gaze within the vision was brought to what sat on the table in front of the man... _No..._ he thought... _It couldn’t be...could it?...  
_       There on the table laid an ancient looking leather tome...it looked exactly like the leather journal that had the fifteen forces documented in it...it even had the same gold designs on the front… No, it wasn’t the journal...it was too thick to be the journal… the vision flashed and he was closer to the table...he was able to see yellowed pages...but whatever was written on them was blurred and Haechan couldn’t make anything out from it… The vignette started to grow darker signalling the vision was ending...just as almost all the light within the vision had faded out, he heard a voice he had never heard before…

_“They must be a set then…”_ it said…

  
      Haechan gasped for breath as the vision left in a fingersnap. He felt soothing hands on his back and his hands… Nothing was really registering yet though...After about five minutes had passed he finally looked up and met the concerned gaze of his boyfriend.

“Are you okay now Donghyuck?...” Mark asked gently.

“Yeah...that was just... _really_ intense…” Haechan replied softly, he looked away from Mark and noticed more of their friends had joined them at the table and all wore similar looks of concern as they watched him.

      Taeyong was the first to speak up…

“What did you see?...” He asked.

“The journal...the one you and Johnny found a year ago…” Haechan began, trailing off.

“Yes? What about it Haechannie…” Taeyong softly encouraged the younger.

“It has a counterpart... _a tome._ ..I was in the café...I saw a young man...he was drinking coffee and it was on the table in front of him...he was reading it… but I couldn’t see any of the words it was all blurred…and when it was ending i heard a voice of someone I’ve never heard before say _“They must be a set then”_ ...” Haechan explained.

      The room had fallen silent...all the boys had turned their attention to what was being said… Taeyong inhaled softly and deeply through his nose.

“So then that means...there’s more to what we know from the journal… it has a counterpart...and it’s out there... _in someone else’s possession_ …” Jaehyun said from beside Taeyong.

“But keep in mind...the journal is _special._ ..it only stood out to us...when I found it when Taeyong and I were looking for information by ourselves last year...before we even knew that there were other people like us out there besides the two of us, it wasn’t even _in_ the library database... _the librarian had never seen it before_ , she said it was ours if we wanted it…” Johnny spoke up, trailing off at the end of his sentence.

“Johnny...you’re not implying what I think you are... _a-are you_?” Ten asked softly.

“Haechan...did anything seem _different_ about the guy you saw?...” Johnny asked.

“N-no...I-I don’t think so, he looked normal to me…” Haechan replied.  
  
      Taeyong had caught onto what Johnny was implying, and had been thinking the same thing, he cleared his throat softly before speaking

“If the journal really truly did only appear to Johnny and I, that’s significant itself… When you first had a vision of the journal without seeing it yourself before then, and seeing that pages were missing from it then seeing it be true in reality, that was significant...It told us there’s more people out there like us, or from what we know by the number of pages missing...Three people at least for certain...If it’s only people like us who can see the journal, and the voice Haechan heard said _“They must be a set then”_..” Taeyong’s train of thought trailed off, and he looked up eyes slightly widened…

“Haechan... _I think you saw one of the missing three…_ ” Taeyong said softly.  


      The room fell dead silent after the words left Taeyong’s mouth and tumbled past his lips… No one moved...it felt like everyone was holding their breath… Taeil shifted in his seat breaking the silence…

“I-it makes sense...it all adds up...that would explain how he must’ve come into ownership of the tome…” Taeil breathed.

“Did you see what he looked like?...” Ten asked softly.

“He was young...around college age… he had platinum blonde hair...but I couldn’t see his face...it was blurred…” Haechan spoke.  
  
      The room fell silent again… Taeyong sat up and hummed.

“Well...then we’ll just have to wait until it comes to be true...Thank you Haechannie...you’re so brave…” Taeyong spoke with a soft smile.

      Haechan blushed at the praise and looked at his hands folded in his lap… 

_  
_ _A new piece of their intricate puzzle had been obtained...they couldn’t rest now…_

 


	10. Chapter 50: "The Temple of Helios"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> _Another update!~ This on is a bit long, but I hope that you enjoy it! Feedback is greatly appreciated and I'd love to hear you thoughts...especially after this chapter~..._   
>  _Forever Your Author,_   
>  _~Kensley_

      Two weeks had passed since Haechan had seen the vision...however, it still had yet to be fulfilled. In this time, Renjun had honed in on his ability to teleport with multiple people long distance… He was confident he was ready to do it...not to mention it was a weekend so they had time to do everything they needed without being rushed...The only problem? Since Haechan’s vision hadn’t been fulfilled yet...No one, including Haechan himself, thought it was a good idea for him to go…

“This weekend couldn’t be a more perfect opportunity to go...what are we going to do?” Jeno groaned, leaning back in his chair rubbing his eyes.

“We can’t leave him here alone...he doesn’t work here at the café...and even if he did, it wouldn’t be fair to leave him as the only employee on staff…” Taeil mused.

“Not to mention he couldn’t cover all the shifts…” Yuta added.

“It’s just plain simple, I can’t go...it’s not smart…” Haechan sighed, slumping over, resting his head on his arms like a pillow from where he sat at the table.

“I’ll stay back…” Johnny said.

      The others looked over at him…

“I mean, surely we don’t all need to be there...whatever you find can be told to us...we don’t necessarily have to witness it.” Johnny elaborated.

      Taeyong hummed in agreement.

“Johnny’s right...I’ll sta-” Taeyong started to say before being cut off by Jaehyun.

“ _No_...Tae...you and Johnny were the first two forces to have the slightest clue of what all of this is...you two met each other and found out about each other early on...Johnny found the journal...and you both initiated all this research...you two kind of are our leaders in all of this...if Johnny’s staying behind you have to go...you’ve been helping Renjun build up his confidence in all of this...I’ll stay back...it’s my family’s café after all.” Jaehyun asserted with a loving smile.

      Taeyong nodded…

“A-alright…” Taeyong agreed.

“I’ll stay too.” Doyoung volunteered.

“No, if anything happens and someone gets hurt, you need to be there. I’ll stay.” Winwin said.

“I can stay too…” Yuta offered.

“I-I don’t think I need to go do I?...” Jisung piped up.

      A few more of the boys opted out, whether it was to stay back and help at the café or to lighten the load of people going. The group had been reduced to just Renjun, Taeyong, Chenle, Jeno, Doyoung, Ten, Jaemin, and Mark. Now they were just waiting to close up the café for the night… Taeyong looked up from where he was wiping down the counter, hearing the sound of the bell above the café door, the last remaining customer had just left. Jaehyun left from behind the counter and locked the door, flipped the sign to _“Closed”_ , pulled the blinds down on all the windows, and shut off the main lights. He caught Taeyong’s gaze as he finished…

“Are you ready?” Jaehyun asked him.

      Taeyong inhaled softly before nodding.

“I am...I just hope Renjun is…” Taeyong breathed.

  
      The two headed to the back and into the study, where all the other boys were. Jeno and Jaemin were sat on either side of Renjun who was looking a bit nervous… Jeno had one hand on his back rubbing it gently, the other on the smaller’s thigh. Jaemin had both of his hands clasped around Renjun’s.

“You’re going to do great Junnie~ You’ve practiced so hard and so well!” Jaemin assured him softly.

“Yeah! Plus you’re taking less people so it’ll be easier!” Jeno added.

      Renjun nodded and took a deep breath before exhaling and nodding. He looked up and caught Taeyong’s eyes from a few feet away. Renjun locked his gaze with him and nodded.

“I’m ready.” Renjun said definitively.

      Taeyong nodded...The boys who were going stood in a circle with Renjun, all of them holding onto each other. They looked back at their friends staying behind, and were met with solemn yet proud smiles.

“We’ll be okay.” Taeyong said, not realizing he was thinking out loud.

“We know.” Jaehyun and Johnny said at the same time, glancing at each other and smiling at the coincidence.

“Ready?...” Renjun asked.

“Ready.” the boys around him responded.

      He took a deep breath, closed his eyes... _Three...Two...One...Garni, Armenia_...he thought… And like that, they were gone, leaving the boys who had stayed behind in awe...no matter how many times they had all seen him practice and were even with him when teleporting...it still amazed them. The silence lingered for a few minutes, no one made any action to move or to speak...If all went well they would not only return safely, but they would have information about at least one of them and hopefully that would give them another piece of the puzzle…

      The group with Renjun felt the feeling of solid ground beneath their feet...They opened their eyes and let go of each other… Beneath their feet was a snow dusted cobblestone road, they looked around, they were in a small village in a mountain valley… _Had they done it?..._ Doyoung’s brows knitted together and he pulled out photos of what the city of Garni was supposed to look like...their surroundings matched but... _where was the temple?..._

“Uh...so why is there no sign of a temple?...” Jaemin piped up.

“The buildings match the photos I have, so we are in Garni...but this temple is what they’re most well known for...where is it?...” Doyoung wondered aloud.

“Let’s see if we can find someone who can help us.” Taeyong suggested.

      The boys nodded and walked as a group down the streets of Garni. They found themselves down a street where they heard music being played, they followed the sound and found themselves in front of a restaurant. A young girl was outside on the restaurant patio shoveling snow and humming as she swayed to the beat of the music. She was on the shorter side and had shoulder length dark brown curls that bounced slightly as she swept away the snow...perhaps she could help. Taeyong stepped forward and opened his mouth to speak but stopped himself… _English..._ he needed English… Though he had a very good grasp on the language, this was something they had no margin for error in… he turned back to the other boys.

“Mark-ah, do you think you can do the talking for us?...” Taeyong asked.

“But hyung, your English is fine...it’s solid enough to be understood and you have a good accent…” Mark said.

“Mark, I’m not a native speaker though. _We can’t make any mistakes_...It would be better if you spoke.” Taeyong explained.

      Mark nodded and inhaled before stepping forward towards where the girl stood shovelling.

“A-ah excuse me miss…” He called out to her politely.

      The girl’s head perked up at the sound, she stopped shovelling and looked over her shoulder, catching Mark’s eyes. She turned around fully, having now identified the source of the voice.

“A-ah hello...um...my name is Mark and these are my friends...we’re on a trip over Europe for school at the moment and we’re a bit lost do you think you could help us?” Mark asked.

“Where are you headed?” she asked, her voice was sweet and pleasant.

“We’re looking for Garni Temple…” Mark said.

      She smiled and rested the handle of the shovel against the wall of the restaurant, and walked towards the door and opened it before shouting something in another language into the restaurant. A voice from within responded to her in the same language. She laughed softly and shut the door, wrapping her scarf around her neck a bit tighter.

“Come on, I’ll show you.” She said motioning for them to follow her.

      The boys nodded and followed her through the town.

  
“So you work there?” Mark asked trying to ease the awkward silent tension.

“I do, it’s my family’s restaurant.” She replied.

“What type of restaurant is it?” Mark asked curiously.

“Greek. We’re from Greece...we moved a few years back for business and a better and more stable economy.” She explained.

“Wow, that’s actually really interesting…” Mark mused.

      She laughed softly.

“I’m Ione, Ione Panagakos.” She said with a smile.

“That’s a pretty name...I’ve never heard a name like that before.” Mark said.

“Thanks, I used to hate it growing up since people who aren’t familiar with Greek names and pronunciation called me “Ion” and it always annoyed me to no end.” She sighed at the memories.

      Mark smiled, she had a charm about her that made her easy to talk to and fun to listen to...Mark thanked the universe they had stumbled upon someone nice and inviting and not someone else of the opposite demeanor.

  
      After about a half hour walk they reached a base of one of the small mountains the temple was sat atop of.

“Here we are!~... _Garni temple_ …” Ione said gesturing to the stone stair-like path that scaled up the small mountain up to the temple.

“Thank you so much Ione.” Mark thanked her graciously.

“Sure thing. I’m glad I could help. When you’re done here, stop by the restaurant...I can have some food made for you guys.” She offered.

“Thank you Ione, we’ll keep that offer in mind… again thank you.” Mark replied.

“Of course.” Ione smiled before turning and walking away back towards the town.

      The boys watched her retreating form before turning to Mark.

“She offered to have food made for us at her restaurant when we’re done here.” Mark said.

“Oh, how nice of her!” Chenle smiled brightly.

“Yeah she was really nice to talk to.” Mark said.

      Jeno and Jaemin laughed.

“What?” Mark asked the two of them.

“You’re lucky Haechannie isn’t here” Jaemin laughed.

“ _You know how jealous he gets_ ” Jeno teased.

      Mark rolled his eyes

“As if. I didn’t mean it like that, I meant it was interesting to talk to her and hear her stories about where she’s from and her family.” Mark scoffed at them.

      They laughed a bit louder.

“We’re just messing with you man, it’s not that deep” Jeno nudged him playfully.

      Mark shrugged him away, a smile on his face.

“Alright, come on you three, we’ve got shit to do.” Ten called back to the three boys as he walked to join Taeyong, Doyoung, Renjun, and Chenle who had already begun the climb up to the temple.

  
      After about a twenty minute journey, the group of eight had reached the top. They all were awestruck at what stood before them… The ancient temple sat regally, still in beautiful condition...none of them had ever seen anything like this before…

“ _Wow_ …” Doyoung breathed.

“Yeah no kidding…” Ten added.

“Chenle, you have your notes right?” Taeyong asked the younger boy.

      Chenle nodded and pulled a folded piece of paper from his coat pocket, unfolded it, and started reading.

“ _Garni Temple, also known as the Temple of Helios, was built in dedication and devotion to the sun god Mihr, or better known in Greek mythology...the god Helios._ ” Chenle read to them before looking up.

“Helios is the Greek god of sun...the sun is our source of light... Jeno hyung...I think if any place on Earth could offer you information on your abilities or your deity...then it would be here…” Chenle added softly.

“I know…” Jeno spoke softly.

      Taeyong looked at the boy, watching as his face paled a bit. Taeyong approached him and placed his hand on his shoulder gently. Jeno jerked his head up at him.

“It’s okay...I can tell you’re thinking about a lot right now Jeno-ah…” Taeyong said knowingly.

“I-it’s just a little bit intimidating that answers to questions I’ve had my whole life could finally be answered today…” Jeno mumbled.

“That’s perfectly reasonable Jeno~” Taeyong said as he patted the younger’s shoulder.

      Jeno smiled at him and took a deep breath.

“What are we waiting for? Lets go.” Jeno said as he took a step towards the temple.

      The others followed and and the group ascended the steps of the temple. They marvelled at the architecture of the ancient building.

“Well...I’m not seeing anything glaringly obvious…” Ten sighed.

“Maybe we have to look harder…” Chenle said softly.

      The boys looked all around the temple, paying intense attention to every little detail around the structure. They spent an hour and a half meticulously combing the temple for anything...even the smallest clue… The only things they had found were a red plastic button; which probably had come loose off of a past visitor’s shirt, a camera lens cap, and a rusted matchbox toy car...they had all lost hope at this point...with the exception of their youngest friend.

“I-I don’t understand...I-I thought it was perfect... _things made sense for once_ …” Chenle spoke softly, sadness and disappointment seeping into his words.

“It was a really really good theory Lele…it just...didn’t end up being true…” Mark said encouragingly.

“B-but…” Chenle began, his voice wavering a bit as tears pooled in his eyes.

“Chenle…” Taeyong and Doyoung both called out softly at the same time upon seeing this.

      The tears fell and Chenle looked down at the marble floor below them, swiping at his eyes in an attempt to stop the tears of frustration and sadness.

“I-I’m so sorry Jeno-hyung! I-I’m sorry e-everyone...m-my s-stupid idea wasted e-everyone’s time!” Chenle choked out through his sobs.

      He felt arms wrap around him and pull him close, rubbing his back soothingly. Once he had started to calm down a bit, he looked up and saw it was Mark. Mark gently thumbed away tears from the younger boy’s cheeks.

“Shhh it’s okay Lele...we’re not mad...not at all. Yeah it sucks that we came all the way here and didn’t find anything...but it wasn’t a complete loss.” Mark soothed gently.

“Mark hyung is right Chenle...if it wasn’t for your idea...I wouldn’t have honed in on my ability to take more than one or two people with me when I teleport...before there’s no way I could’ve teleported this far with even just two people!” Renjun assured.

“And it was still worth the trip...it’s another memory to look back on together in the future.” Jaemin said.

      The others nodded in agreement. Chenle sniffed and smiled...he really did have the best hyungs in the whole world.

“I suppose we should head out then hm?” Taeyong asked, taking notice of how late it had gotten as the sun had begun to set.

      The others all hummed in agreement and took one last look around before heading to exit.

  
      Taeyong did a quick head count as the rest of the boys walked ahead of him... _Jeno…_ He looked over his shoulder and turned around seeing the boy still standing in the center of the temple. Taeyong’s footsteps towards the boy echoed off of the temple walls.

“Jeno-ah?...You okay?...” He asked him.

      Jeno opened his eyes and inhaled deeply before exhaling and rolling his shoulders.

“I don’t think Chenle was entirely wrong...I definitely feel like there’s _something_ here...I just don’t know what it is or how to see it...but _I feel like I’m drawn here_ …” Jeno explained, eyebrows furrowed as he tried to describe the odd sensations and feelings he had running rampant in his head.

“Then perhaps there’s something else missing...we’ll figure it out. I promise. We’ve come this far together...we’re not going to be giving up any time soon.” Taeyong said with a smile.

      Jeno blinked at the older before a smile blossomed across his cheeks reaching his eyes as well. He flung his arms around Taeyong and hugged him tightly.

“Thank you hyung... _for everything_ …” Jeno thanked him.

      Taeyong smiled lovingly and hugged him back.

“Come on Jeno, lets go catch up with the others...we’re going to head back soon…” Taeyong said as he nodded in the direction the others had headed.  
  


      They caught up with the others and headed back into the town to the restaurant where they had met Ione. Taeyong opened the door and stepped inside, the others followed. A woman met his gaze.

“Ah you must be who Ione told me about. Come come! Have seat we’ll have food right out to you.” She spoke.

“A-ah thank you very much ma’am.” Taeyong replied.

      Mark nudged him.

“See hyung, _great English_.” Mark said with a wink, referring to what he had told the elder earlier.

      Taeyong just ruffled his hair and the group of boys sat down together. After being brought bowls of beef and lemon stew, the eight of them ate in silence. After they had finished, Taeyong pulled out his wallet as the woman and Ione began taking their now empty bowls.

“Ah ah ah!” The woman scolded him.

      He blinked in surprise.

“It’s on the house…” She smiled warmly at him.

“A-ah t-thank you, that is very kind of you.” Taeyong stuttered, bowing out of habit.

      The woman smiled and laughed softly.

  
      After sitting for a bit, indulging in the warmth of the fire that burned inside the fireplace that their table was by, Taeyong took note of the time… it had gotten late here in Armenia, it was already the next day back in Korea...They should head back…

“Renjun-ah, are you ready to take us home?” Taeyong asked in a whisper.

      Renjun nodded. The others shrugged on their coats and pulled on their gloves and scarves. They got up from their chairs and pushed them in neatly. Taeyong and Mark walked up to the counter to thank Ione and her mother for all they had done for them.

“Mrs. Panagakos, thank you again for the meal. It was greatly appreciated and it was really delicious.” Taeyong said graciously.

“Believe me, that’s high praise from him, he loves to cook…” Mark added with a smile.

      The woman smiled

“I’m glad you enjoyed it. Be safe on your walk to your hotel, or wherever it is that you’re staying.” She said kindly.

“We will.” Taeyong said with a nod.

“It was nice to meet you Mark, and your friends too...I wish there wasn’t such a big laguage barrier, they all seemed really nice.” Ione said with a slight frown.

“I translated for you don’t worry, they liked meeting you as well. It was nice to meet you as well Ione you really were fun to talk too, thank you so much for all your help today.” Mark thanked her.

“Of course. If you or any of your friends ever find yourself here again, feel free to stop by.” Ione said with a smile.

“I’ll keep that in mind.” Mark said.

      She held her hand out to him, he took it and she shook it

“Good luck in your studies for this trip you all are on.” She said before releasing his hand.

“Thank you Ione.” Mark replied.

      And with that the eight boys left and ducked away into an alley between buildings. All of them joined hands again and looked at one another.

“Ready?” Renjun asked.

      They nodded. Renjun closed his eyes and took a deep breath... _Three...Two...One… Neo City Café..._ he thought. And just like before, the boys had vanished from sight.

  
“ _Oh! Wow...you’re all are back…_ ” they heard a voice from several feet away say.

      They all opened their eyes and saw Jisung...they were back in the study in the back of the café, Jisung had just been passing near the spot of the room they all appeared in, and it had caught him off guard. They all breathed a sigh of relief simultaneously, laughing shortly after, since they all clearly were thinking the same thing… how great it was to be back… The sound of a door being opened, followed by footsteps filled their ears.

“Did I leave my-” a voice began to say.

      The group of boys turned their attention to the direction the voice came from, there stood Jaehyun, wearing his café employee apron, eyes slightly wide. He locked eyes with Taeyong and a smile instantly bloomed across his lips as his eye softened.

“ _You’re back_ …” Jaehyun breathed.

“Yeah...we are…” Taeyong smiled back.

“I’ll go tell the others…” Jaehyun stated warmly as he turned to head back out to the main area of the café to tell their other friends who were presumably either out there or on shift.

“So how did it go?” Jisung asked, curiosity sparkled in his eyes.

      The boys all inwardly cringed at this...they hoped the others wouldn’t be too upset at the news...

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> _You thought you were going to get a new piece of the puzzle too didn't you?~ Not yet~ They're still missing some pretty important things...but soon..._   
>  _Remember everything is connected~_   
>  _**Everything...**_
> 
> P.S: There is **NO** romantic chemistry between Ione and Mark. I created her as an aid to them all on their journey. But I did have the idea in mind while making her that perhaps why Mark felt drawn to her was because she reminded him of one of his friends from Canada...I just didn't really think that that notion fit anywhere in the story though, since it's not important or really notable...But yeah...that's just to clear up any misconceptions about her...


	11. Chapter 51: "Back To Square One...Kind Of..."

      Jaehyun walked through the door out to the main area of the café, he saw Johnny standing in front of the espresso machine, cleaning it while chatting with Yuta. Winwin was perched up on the counter, gently swaying his legs as he listened to the two speak. 

“Hey.” Jaehyun called out just loud enough to grab their attentions.

      They looked over at him.

“They all just got back.” Jaehyun spoke softly so his words only reached their ears.

“Really?! T-that’s great!” Winwin asked as he hopped down from the counter, his eyes were widened and full of curiosity.

“Yeah...go on and head back there, I’m going to finish that guy’s order and then I’ll be back there…” Jaehyun said to the three of his friends that stood before him.

      They nodded and did as he said. Jaehyun cleared his throat and went back to the drink he had abandoned making when he had left to go check if he had left one of the milk foamers in the study and seen that the others were back. He gently poured foamed milk into the mug of coffee and topped it with whipped cream and chocolate drizzle, then slid it on the counter.

“Chocolate mocha for Qian?...” He asked as he did so.

“Ah that would be mine…” A young man said as he pushed up his glasses and brushed his honey blonde bangs out of his eyes.

“I’m sorry about the wait sir…” Jaehyun apologized to the young man.

“Oh it’s fine! I wasn’t concerned...I used to work in a restaurant, I know that these things take time.” The young man said with a smile as he graciously took the cup.

      Jaehyun smiled, it was moments like this that make him grateful he grew up in the restaurant business.

“Well I hope you enjoy it…” Jaehyun said as he wiped the counter.

“I’m sure I will.” the young man added before turning and heading towards a table where two other boys sat.

“Haechan!” Jaehyun called to the boy on the other side of the café who was watching his surroundings like a hawk.

      Haechan perked up and looked over, seeing his hyung nod towards the door to the study meaning they were meeting. He stood up and pushed in his chair and walked towards the door. On the way he brushed shoulders with a young man, and in that moment it was like he was living in slow motion...he saw everything about this stranger in a matter of seconds… How his honey blonde hair brushed over the tops of his glasses frames, the individual stitches of his emerald green sweater...then as soon as it had begun, it was over and the young man was sliding into a booth were two young men sat…

“ _ That was weird…” _ Haechan thought before shaking himself out of it and walking to the back where the study was.

  
      When he passed the door frame, he saw that the others had returned from their trip to Garni…

“Oh! You’re all back! How was it?” he smiled at them.

      It was Chenle, Jaemin and Jeno that gave it away...they all were looking down at their laps with soft frowns playing on their lips...

“There wasn’t anything there was there…” Yuta stated softly.

      The group that had gone just sighed and shook their heads. A wave of disappointment washed over the room in a wave of silence… No one really knew what to say, what to suggest next… They were just as lost as them…

      Jeno sighed and took a soft deep breath and broke the silence.

“We didn’t find answers no...but there was something about that place that I felt drawn to… Like it felt right… I just don’t know how to see or find whatever it is that lies there…” Jeno explained.

“H-hyung you didn’t tell me that…” Chenle’s eyes sparkled with hope.

“I told Taeyong, after you all started to head down the mountain, he noticed that I hadn’t moved, and it was because I felt like something was keeping me there...telling me that I was supposed to be there…” Jeno explained.

“If that’s the case...then Chenle’s theory must be correct…” Taeil reasoned.

“That’s what I was thinking...but like Jeno said, there’s still a missing piece...which leads me to believe...whatever we’re missing lies within that tome that Haechan saw in his vision…” Taeyong theorized.

“That actually makes sense…” Yuta remarked as he leaned back in his chair.

“So if that’s the case, what do we do now then?” Jaehyun asked.

“We wait for Haechan’s vision to come true, in the meantime...we keep looking for places connected to our powers and we visit them, see if we feel anything…” Johnny spoke up from where he was seated at their table.

“Exactly.” Taeyong added.

      The others nodded. Though they lacked clarity and answers they desired...they were still making progress...and that was enough for them for the time being.

  
  



	12. Chapter 52: "Changes Ahead..."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> _I had to make Kun platinum blonde, because I love the color on him. Oh and in case you didn't catch it in the last chapter, It was Kun who ordered the coffee and brushed shoulders with Haechan before sitting down with Lucas and Jungwoo. Let me know what you think as always!_   
>  _Forever Your Author,_   
>  _~Kensley_

      About a week had passed since the three young friends had went to the  café together, now they were all sat in Kun’s apartment again. Kun blew his bangs out of his eyes for the hundredth time in the time they had been together when Jungwoo sighed softly.

“Hyung...isn’t your hair a bit long?” Jungwoo asked shyly.

      Kun reached up and twisted a lock of hair between his index finger and his thumb.

“I guess it is… You know I’ve actually been meaning to change it” Kun remarked.

“How so?” Jungwoo asked, his head tilting to the side slightly in curiosity.

“I’ve been wanting to dye it for a while…” Kun said.

“Ooooh! What color?!” Lucas piped up from beside him.

“I’d like to try platinum blonde again…” Kun smiled.

“Would you like me to help?” Jungwoo offered.

“Jungwoo’s really good gege, he dyed my hair and helps me trim it whenever I need it.” Lucas reassured.

“Sure...why not.” Kun smiled as he got up off of the couch to go retrieve the bleach and hair scissors from his bathroom.

  
      When he came back he saw that Jungwoo had dragged one of the chairs from the kitchen table into the kitchen by the sink and covered it in plastic wrap. Kun handed him the bleach and scissors before sitting in the chair.

“Oooh can I help-” Lucas started to ask before being cut off.

“NO.” Jungwoo and Kun said firmly at the same time.

      Don’t get them wrong, they adored the younger, albeit in different ways, but he could tend to be a bit.. _.clumsy_ at times...And in the matter of hair coloring and cutting, a margin for error isn’t big if any. So Lucas took to sitting atop the counter as Jungwoo pulled on the given pair of black latex gloves and Kun sat down, hair damp from washing it in the sink.

“Ready hyung?” Jungwoo asked as he whisked a few final stirs into the bleach paste mix.

“Ready as ever.” Kun smiled.

      Jungwoo nodded and got to work, gently and skillfully brushing the lilac paste into his hyung’s hair. Once he had finished he gently placed a clear shower cap over the elder’s hair and washed off his gloves, leaning against the counter as they waited for Kun’s timer to go off for him to rinse this first round out.

      Some time had passed and Kun had washed out the first round of bleach and sat back down, Jungwoo silently getting back to working on the second round. Again they waited in silence as the bleach set into Kun’s hair. After rinsing a second time Jungwoo had Kun sit with his head over the sink basin as he gently shampooed and conditioned the elder’s hair.

  
      After his hair had been washed and toweled off a bit so it wasn’t sopping wet, Jungwoo picked up the hair scissors and got to work trimming Kun’s hair neatly and skillfully. Bits of bright platinum blonde hair littered the plastic wrap covered floor… Jungwoo made one final cut and stepped back, nodding in approval.

“Kun hyung, where’s your hairdryer?” Jungwoo asked.

“Under my sink in my bathroom.” Kun replied.

“I’ll go get it.” Lucas said, hopping off the counter and walking to the bathroom.

      Lucas came back a minute later with the item in hand, passing it off to Jungwoo who plugged it in and switched it on, getting to work in drying Kun’s freshly cut and dyed hair. Jungwoo switched the dryer off ten minutes later and stood back to admire his work.

“Wow...Jungwoo...you did a really good job…” Lucas said with wide eyes.

“Yeah...hyung’s hair took the bleach really really well…” Jungwoo smiled.

“It looks good?” Kun asked the younger two who were still staring at him in awe.

“Look for yourself hyung…” Jungwoo said handing him a mirror.

      Kun turned it over and stared at his reflection...Lucas was right, Jungwoo had done a phenomenal job and it looked really good on him. He delicately ran his fingers through the silky platinum locks, watching as they fluttered through his fingertips and falling on his forehead.

“Jugwoo-ah it looks awesome! I love it thank you so much!” he beamed at the younger.

“A-ah I’m glad you like it hyung.” Jungwoo blushed at the praise and beamed at his happy hyung.

“Big changes ahead gege!” Lucas said with a laugh.

      Kun smiled at that and glanced to the tome on the table…

“Yeah Xuxi...big changes ahead…” He said…

_  
      Big changes indeed... _

  
  



	13. Chapter 53: "The Prophecy...Fulfilled..."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> _I said last chapter that there were big changes ahead~ Hope you enjoy! let me know what you think!_   
>  _Forever Your Author,_   
>  _~Kensley_

      A week had passed since the boy’s return from Garni, it was an ordinary Saturday day at the  café, business was good, a bit slow since the lunch rush had just finished, but still good. The older boys on shift sighed as they waited for their next customers. They heard the bell above the café door jingle, but when they looked up they saw Jaemin, Jeno and Jisung who had just come from their weekend dance lessons.

“Hey you three, how was dance?” Yuta greeted from behind the counter.

“It was good but so tiring.” Jeno sighed running his hands through his damp, freshly washed hair.

      Yuta hummed in response.

“Same drinks as usual?” He asked knowingly.

“Yes please Yuta hyung.” The three replied in unison before heading back behind the counter to the study.

      Yuta got to work preparing the drinks he had memorized by heart, one iced americano with four espresso shots, one iced green tea latte, and one cinnamon apple cider. He worked quickly and swiftly in preparing the drinks, humming as he did so. He saw Jaehyun walk by out of his peripheral and peek into the study…

“Mark-ah, you’re on shift.” Jaehyun called into the back.

      Yuta nodded and finished the last few aspects of the drinks and took them to the back, handing them to the three younger boys.

“Thank you Yuta hyung!” They all thanked him graciously.

      He smiled and ruffled their hair before heading back out to the counter where Mark was tying on his employee apron as Haechan spoke to him about something.

“Haechannie, I love you but only employees behind the counter.” Yuta said earning a pout from the younger.

      Yuta laughed softly and ruffled his hair. Haechan went and sat at the bar of the counter, still hoping to be able to talk to his boyfriend while he worked.

  
      A little while later the bell above the  café door chimed. Haechan didn’t look up, too preoccupied by the research he was doing on his laptop on places that could possibly be connected to his powers. You see, it was fairly easy to find places for the others who had the more natural and elemental powers. Granted several locations served as options for the boys to test at a later date, but they still found options and places...Haechan struggled with his…

“Where would someone even begin to look for a place connected to telepathy and foresight?...” He thought to himself as he gazed at the empty search bar displayed on his laptop in front of him.

“That’ll be 6,110 won please…” Haechan heard Yuta say from the register.

      Haechan shook his head and typed “paranormal places” into the search bar before hitting the “enter” key. He skimmed through the results and scanned the most promising looking pages…

“One Vanilla Chai BOSS Macchiato for Qian?” Haechan heard Mark call out the finished order, still not bothering to look up.

        
      About ten minutes had passed and he hadn’t found anything other than supposed haunted houses, demon holes, and sites of paranormal occurrences. He sighed in slight frustration as he leaned back in his chair and rubbed his eyes, which had grown tired from staring intently at his computer screen.

      He let his eyes wander across the café as he thought of new searches to try...then he felt a sense of déja-vu wash over him...He had seen this before… Not the café, of course he had seen that, he was here practically every day...No… this exact moment...he’d been here before… He felt his awareness of his surroundings heighten, every little detail was being taken in…

“Haechan?...Are you okay?...” He heard Mark ask from behind the counter.

      Haechan ignored him, intently moving his gaze slowly around the café form table to table...and that’s when he saw it… _the tome from his vision…_

      And surely enough, a young man with platinum blonde hair sat at the table flipping through it as he sipped his coffee.

“O-oh my god…” Haechan breathed.

      Mark’s eyebrows furrowed in confusion before following the younger’s gaze...his eyes widened...what he was looking at fit all the descriptions of Haechan’s vision… The young man with platinum blonde hair, reading a thick ancient looking book…

“I-I’m getting Taeyong hyung and Johnny…” Mark stammered out before rushing to the back to retrive the older boys.

  
      Haechan shakily stood up from the chair he was seated in and started slowly walking towards the table the young man was seated at. A few paces away he was able to see the same yellowed and worn pages he had seen in his vision… It was all happening… He swallowed and took the last final steps up to the table.

“E-excuse me…” He spoke softly.

      The young man looked up, closing the book...Haechan saw the familiar glittering gold ivy design on the cover.

“Yes? May I help you?” the young man asked… the exact same voice from the end of his vision…

“I-I’d like to ask you about that book…” Haechan stated shakily.

      He saw the young man instinctively place a protective hand over the cover of the book… he clearly knew how special it was.

“I’m sorry but I cannot share it's contents with you…” the young man spoke politely yet firmly.

      Haechan felt panic fill the pit of his stomach… Footsteps came up behind him…

“Hello sir, if it’s not too much to ask, we would like to have a word with you in the back…” Haechan heard the cool, calm, and collected voice of Taeyong speak from behind him.

“I apologize but I’ll respectfully decline, in fact I’ll be going now-” The young man started to say, but stopped…

      Haechan noticed he was looking at something...He turned around and saw Johnny flashing the top of the ancient journal at him from under his jacket. Haechan turned his attention back to the young man who nodded and took the tome off of the table and followed them to the back of the shop to the study…

_  
The vision had finally been fulfilled... _

  
  



	14. Chapter 54: "It's All Coming Together..."

      Taeyong was pacing slightly about the study, as they waited for the rest of their friends to show up. It was happening, Haechan’s vision had been fulfilled and they were about to see inside the tome… Taeyong felt hands encircle his shoulders, he turned around and his eyes met Jaehyun’s.

“Don’t worry Tae...everything is going to be okay…” Jaehyun smiled down at him reassuringly.

      Taeyong smiled softly and took a shaky deep breath before nodding… Jaehyun was right, he shouldn’t be so worried…

  
      A short while later, the door to the back had opened several times as their other friends came in one by one on short notice, they were only missing one person from their circle of friends… Winwin… the two people the young man had said he needed here as well hadn’t turned up either. A gust of cold wind blew through the study as the back door had opened…

“I’m sorry it took me so long to get here…” Winwin’s voice called from the door.

“It’s okay Winwinnie...come on in…” Jaehyun spoke softly.

“Alright, but I have two guys out here saying they were asked to come in here too...what should I do?” Winwin added, still standing by the door.

“Yes let them in...we need them here for this.” Taeyong said.

      Winwin opened the door wider, revealing two young men. The three of them walked in and approached the table…

“You said Haechan’s vision came true… so where’s the-” Winwin began, but stopped short upon seeing the young man as he turned around in his chair.

“ _ Gege? _ ...” Winwin asked softly, eyes wide.

“ _ Winwin?...Sicheng is that you? _ ...” the young man asked.

      A smile bloomed across Winwin’s face as he approached the young man and wrapped him in a tight hug.

“Wait you two know each other?...” Haechan asked in confusion.

“Kun-ge was my neighbor when I lived in China...he moved away before I did, and came to Korea...Gege I haven’t seen you since we were kids…” Winwin explained.

“When I moved away that’s when I met them…” Kun explained as he gestured towards the two boys Winwin had let in.

“Okay so let me get this straight...you knew Winwin for a period of time before moving from China to Korea...when you moved to Korea you met them and?...” Ten said following the revealed truths.

  
      Kun turned to face everyone and gestured for the two other boys to sit down.

“Why don’t we start with introductions….” Kun offered, glancing over at the two other young men.

      The taller  boy who had slightly lighter brunette hair, which was perfectly parted and styled spoke first.

“Hello, I’m Wong Yukhei but you can call me Lucas...it’s nice to meet you…” Lucas introduced himself politely.

      The other boy had slightly waved brunette hair that was long enough to fall just above his soft doe like eyes that sparkled with innocence…

“H-hi, I’m Kim Jungwoo…” Jungwoo spoke softly and shyly.

“And I’m Qian Kun...It’s nice to meet you.” Kun introduced.

  
      The other fifteen boys had gone around and introduced themselves to the three new boys before Taeyong cleared his throat and spoke up…

“So how did you come across this book…” Taeyong asked.

“I work in the college library whenever Jang-nim needs help reshelving books or checking them in. While I was working one day, I noticed there was a really old looking log of dates keeping track of the tome...it’s called the  _ “Archive of the Deities” _ seeing as it clearly had supernatural properties and that was something Lucas, Jungwoo and I had been after for a long time...It was worth looking into so I waited every day since finding that log in hopes of it turning up and it finally did a few weeks ago… Jang-nim told me it was special and trusted it to me… I assumed there was only this...but as you showed me in the  café, you have a matching journal…” Kun explained.

“We came across this journal in a similar way… Johnny and I were in the library last year and Johnny found it...it showed us things that we had been in search for...things that we always wondered…” Taeyong explained.

“They must be a set then…” Kun replied.

      Haechan felt a chill run up his spine...the voice and the phrase from his vision...everything had come true…

“But that leads us to our next question…” Johnny began.

“If that tome gave you answers to things you had been in search of, just like the journal did for us...and since they’re a set...you three have supernatural abilities don’t you…” Johnny asked.

      The room fell silent...after a few moments had passed after what felt like an eternity, Kun sighed.

“Yes...we do…” Kun said.

      The room broke out into smiles and cheered, this sent the three new boys into surprise.

“We found the missing three!” Chenle cheered excitedly.

“So you all have powers too?...” Lucas asked.

“We do.” Taeyong smiled…

_  
      This was their start of their next step in their journey...it was finally here...and fifteen had become eighteen...their family had grown... _

  
  



	15. Chapter 55: "Answers Lie Within..."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> **PLEASE READ!!!**   
>  _So it occurred to me as I was editing and posting the last chapter that I've been writing this story for a very long time... So I went into my Tumblr history of post dates, since this story was originally posted on Tumblr before I started posting here and eventually stopped posting there, and I looked up when I first posted this story... I knew that I had been writing this for a little over a year, but...on February 1st, 2019...this Fic will be a year and a half old... That's crazy to me... that not only have I kept up with this story for so long, all while finishing my senior year of high school and beginning and enduring my first semester of university...but that people have continued to read it and kept up with it... There are people, and you know who you are, who have been here since day one...since I first posted this on Tumblr and eventually came here to continue reading...there are some of you who have only been reading it on here since day one...no matter what it was that had me tied down and prevented me from posting, you always kept coming back and eagerly waited for a new update, and I want to thank those individuals from the bottom of my heart... I read every comment, I see every bookmark and every kudos...Wether you've been reading this story since the beginning or are just now starting to read it, thank you...for supporting my works and giving not only this story but me as a person and writer, your love, support and gratitude. Here's to almost one and a half years with this Fic...I don't think I would have been anywhere near as successful without such a supportive following. Thank you so much..._   
>  _Forever Your Author_   
>  _~Kensley_

      After the now group of eighteen boys had gotten their bearings and gone through introductions and demonstrations of powers, the room had fallen silent again…

“So...would it be possible for us all to see our pages for our deities?” Doyoung asked politely.

“Well...that’s where the issue lies…” Kun spoke.

      The boys flashed looks of confusion and curiosity in his direction…

“Though the tome has all this documented information...only one deity is revealed at a time...all the other pages remain blank...which leads me to believe that the tome and journal are both charmed...which is why we are the only ones who see them and notice them…” Kun explained…

“Then how was the librarian able to keep a log of it?” Taeil asked.

“I haven’t quite figured that out yet...my best theory is Jang-nim is a descendant of their author…” Kun explained.

“So what deities have you seen information about?...” Mark asked softly.

“We’ve seen the deity of Ice, Frost and Snow, the deity of Fire, and it actually switched back to the deity of Ice, Frost and Snow this morning…” Kun replied.

      All eyes turned to Taeyong and Johnny… The two looked at each other, both stunned and rendered speechless.

“That further proves my point…” Jaehyun began.

“The night you all left for Garni, I told you that you and Johnny are like our leaders in all of this. Johnny found the journal and from there you two began your search for the rest of us and for answers...it all makes sense why your deities are the ones that have appeared to them in the book first...because you guide us all and always have been the backbones of support and strength to us in all of this…” Jaehyun elaborated.

  
       Johnny and Taeyong sat in silence before both breaking out into smiles...it meant the world to them that their friends felt that they could always lean on them and trust them for guidance and support in this confusing journey they were all on together in search of answers…

      Taeyong inhaled deeply, closing his eyes before exhaling softly and re-opening his eyes.

“May I please see the book?” Taeyong asked.

“Of course…” Kun replied, gently sliding the tome over in his direction.

  
      Several of the boys had risen from their chairs and moved to stand around Taeyong to read over his shoulder. Taeyong gently trailed his thin fingers over the glittering gold ivy design before lifting the cover of the book. Inside, the pages were old and yellowed with age. They had crude edges as most old books would, and the ink scrawled across the pages in old cursive had faded from what was probably once a brilliant stark black, to a muted pale grey. _“Archives of the Deities…”_ was scrawled across the front page. Taeyong turned the page…and read aloud what was printed in perfect faded calligraphy…

_“Deity of Ice, Frost and Snow...Glaciesia”_ Taeyong read…

      He inhaled softly again before continuing to read aloud...

> _“Glaciesia, the deity of ice, snow, and frost...she rests atop snow peaks of mountains when in her human form of being...she wears a flowing white dress as white as snow itself, though it fades to a pale lilac towards the ends of her skirts. Despite always being in the most frigid of temperatures, she wears nothing upon her feet, and the only thing to cover her arms is a thin translucent bit of fabric draped upon her shoulders...Icicles drip from he earlobes like diamonds...ice crystals bloom around her head like a circlet crown...her hair a brilliant silver that tumbles in curls all down her back… her skin a shade of faintly blue tinged white...whenever she blinks her long white lashes, snowflakes dust upon her cheeks...she acts as one of the mother deities...loving, protective, strong...her final place on Earth she returned to lies within Mount Kailash in Tibet, atop the mountain’s highest peak.”_

      Taeyong blinked at the sudden information...he subconsciously traced his slim fingers over the beautiful sketch of what Glaceisia looked like...She was beautiful… As he moved his hand away from her photo he noticed more notes written off to the side… 

> _“Glaciesia is seen atop the mountain’s highest peak watching over the surrounding land around and below. If mountain climbers ever struggle or lose their way, she acts as a hidden guiding force of help to put them out of harm’s way and back on the right path. To summon her, find the granite stone atop the mountain’s highest peak, it may be concealed under a drift of snow… then place a small mound of snow in the center of the stone, atop the snow place a quartz crystal in the center, then douse with rosewater. Once this is done you must chant to her the following:  
>    
>  “Mother of ice, mother of snow, Glaciesia I bow to thee and to thy legacy… Grant me to see you oh Deity of Ice, guide me to know thine ways of thine snow…”_

      Taeyong’s eyebrows furrowed in thought before his eyes widened a bit in realization before he spoke…

“We have to summon them…” Taeyong began.

“Jeno-ah, if the Temple of Helios was in fact correct, then all we were missing is what is needed to summon your deity! That’s the missing piece!” Taeyong explained brightly.

      Jeno’s eyes widened and his heart rate quickened.

“So my gut feeling wasn’t wrong?…” Jeno asked.

“We can’t know for certain until your deity’s pages are revealed and we see all of what’s documented but I feel it...you felt it...Garni Temple has to be the right location.” Taeyong replied.

“So what now hyung?” Jisung asked softly as he stepped away from where he had been reading over Taeyong’s shoulder.

“It looks like I’m going to need to purchase a quartz stone and rosewater…” Taeyong breathed as he gently closed the book and looked up at the others.

“And we’re all going to need to invest in heavy duty winter wear…” Taeyong elaborated.

      By now all the boys had donned expressions of confusion and curiosity… Taeyong locked eyes with Renjun…

“Think you can take all of us to Tibiet?” Taeyong asked, a smile blossoming across his face.

      Renjun nodded.

“In fact I’m almost certain I can take us to the top of the mountain.” Renjun stated confidently.

      Taeyong beamed at him proudly as he reached over and ruffled the younger’s hair.

“Then let’s get to it...our long awaited answers lie ahead…” Taeyong encouraged with a smile.

  
      The boys cheered and split off to gather what they needed if they were to be making the journey later that day… Taeyong felt a hand on his shoulder. He turned around and his eyes met Jaehyun’s. Taeyong felt his heart flutter and a warm wave wash over his body…

“I’m so proud of you Taeyong...you really honestly do such a phenomenal job of always helping us and putting our needs, feelings and adversities before yours…” Jaehyun spoke, his thumb gently rubbing circles into Taeyong’s shoulder.

“We’re a family now...this is what families do...they support and help each other…” Taeyong responded with a blush painting his cheeks.

“No Tae...it's what we do...what _you_ do...not every family is like this...you help keep us this way.” Jaehyun said, his eyes sparkling with admiration and love.

      Taeyong was rendered speechless by this. Jaehyun took this opportunity to place a delicate chaste kiss to Taeyong’s lips and wrap the smaller in a tight embrace. Shortly after slow clapping was heard, and Jaehyun and Taeyong whipped their heads in the direction of the sound.

“You two are precious and all but no love for your best friend?” Johnny pouted playfully at them.

      Jaehyun and Taeyong laughed.

“Jae you even named me one of the leading supports ah!” Johnny exclaimed dramatically as he clutched at his heart.

“The betrayal, oh woe is me.” Johnny sighed grimacing.

      Jaehyun playfully punched his shoulder.

“After all the times you’ve had my back and been there for me as well as the others, I thought a thanks was self-explanatory.” Jaehyun laughed.

“Well it still feels nice.” Johnny playfully pouted again before breaking into laughter and smiling.

      Jaehyun shook his head laughing and waved the other off. _Things were looking up for them all...Answers were on the horizon..._

  
 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> **IMPORTANT INFORMATION ABOUT THE STORY**  
>  As I previously mentioned, I did a TON of research for this story and now you are finally seeing it. For each deity and place that is uncovered there is a history documented in the tome that Kun now has possession of. Each Deity has a final place on Earth from when they gave up their human physical forms for good and became one with Earth in waiting to bestow their powers onto worth righteous individuals. This tome documents these places along with the descriptions of the deities themselves, their characteristics and their appearance. However as seen in previous chapters some of the places are obvious, like The Temple Of Helios as Chenle pointed out. So as I write each chapter with new deities and new discoveries, I will add the reasonings for why I chose these specific places, and if you all want I can create visuals of the deities...I'm not exactly sure where I would post that...maybe I could make a separate section of this series for it. Even though I wrote this at the bottom of Chapter 48, I'm writing it again here as a refresher. Anyways...here is why I chose Mount Kailash:
> 
> Mount Kailash, Tibet: Mount Kailash is part of the mountain range Gangs Rin-Po-Che. "Gangs" being the Tibetan word for "snow peak" and "Rinpoche" being the Tibetan word for "precious one", therefore when the two are put together it names it "precious jewel of snow". Mount Kailash is the highest point in the range.  
> So because it's named the "Precious Jewel of Snow" and the deity Glaciesia is characterized as being a level of beauty that is considered "otherworldly" I thought it was absolutely perfect.  
> Also I created her name "Glaciesia" from the Latin word for ice which is "Glacies"  
> Additionally, the way to summon, as well as the chant were created by me...  
> I hope this all makes sense and maybe even makes the story more interesting!!!!  
> ~Kensley


	16. Chapter 56: "To The Summit Of Mount Kailash..."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> _Here it is! The first chapter of answers! Please let me know what you think! I would love to hear your thoughts especially now that their life-long questions are being answered!~_   
>  _Forever Your Author,_   
>  _~Kensley_

      Over the course of the next few hours the boys had compiled together all of their warmest most insulative winter weather gear and had returned to the study in preparation for their journey to Mount Kailash… Just as they had done when half of them went to Garni in search of the Temple of Helios, Jaehyun waited with Taeyong for their last customer to leave before closing up shop and shutting off the lights before heading to the study together… However, unlike last time, they now had three new boys who were now a part of this journey, and they didn’t seem too certain about all of this.

“A-are you sure you want us there?...W-we only just met and w-what i-if we m-mess things up and y-you get mad...p-please don’t g-get mad…” Jungwoo stammered anxiously as tears pooled in his eyes.

“Hey hey…” Doyoung approached him gently, as he gently grabbed the new younger boy’s shoulders and turned him to face him.

“Even if we only met today, the eighteen of us are meant to be together as one group...one family… you three are as much a part of this journey and this family as anyone else in this room. You won’t mess things up and even if things find a way to go wrong somehow, we’re not going to pin the blame on you. We’re all in this as one…” Doyoung reassured gently.

      Jungwoo nodded, and bowed to him in thanks. Doyoung laughed softly and patted the boy’s shoulder. It hadn’t been that long and they had all come to the conclusion that their three newest additions were beyond lovable and welcome.

“There’s no need to fear okay? We already accepted you from the moment we saw that there were missing pages in the journal...we knew you were out there and we’ve been looking forward to meeting you ever since.” Taeyong added with a warm inviting smile.

      Kun, Jungwoo, and Lucas smiled graciously.

“That means a lot to us hyung.” Kun spoke for them in gratitude.

      Taeyong nodded and zipped up his last thick layer, which was an ankle length down coat. He looked up as he tugged on a pair of sub-zero gloves and nodded in approval when he saw the other’s were bundled up in a similar fashion. Renjun had shown Kun, Jungwoo, and Lucas what it was like to teleport with him by teleporting across the room with each of them. They were all set… Taeyong unzipped his coat pocket and tucked the bottle of rosewater and the quartz crystal into it before zipping it up again. He pulled a ski mask over his face and situated his ski goggles, the others followed suit and pulled on their respective masks and goggles.

“Ready Renjun?” Taeyong asked the younger boy, his voice slightly, muffled by the mask and thick scarf he had on.

      He saw Renjun nod in response. Taeyong nodded in return and the eighteen boys joined hands together. Renjun closed his eyes and counted down…  _ Three… Two… One… Summit of Mount Kailash, Tibet… _ He thought…

  
      Unlike last time it was not the sensation of solid ground beneath their feet that prompted the boys to open their eyes and view their surroundings, but rather an intense gust of wind so bone-chilling and fierce.

“ **_HOLY SHIT THAT’S FUCKING COLD!_ ** ” Ten exclaimed loudly.

      He wasn’t wrong...even with Taeyong’s abilities over ice, frost and snow and having always been welcoming of the cold since it never bothered him, he had never felt a cold like this…  _ ever _ … He glanced back at the boys who despite many layers of clothing, were still huddling together. Taeyong needed to make this quick… 

  
      He quickly shuffled around in search of the granite stone the tome had spoken of… he heard footfalls behind him and saw that it was Jaehyun who was looking with him… With their combined efforts they located the granite stone within five minutes of searching and digging through the white blanket that shrouded the summit’s surface. Taeyong  stood before the granite pedestal and turned to Jaehyun…

“I don’t know how long this could take...if this takes longer than three minutes, have Johnny use his abilities to keep everyone warm.” Taeyong instructed his boyfriend clearly.

      Jaehyun nodded and clasped his gloved hands around Taeyong’s, and although Taeyong couldn’t see his lover’s eyes through Jaehyun’s tinted ski goggles, he could feel his gaze on him.

“No matter what...come back to us okay?...We need you...I need you…” Jaehyun spoke to him firmly yet adoringly.

“Of course… I wouldn’t ever dream of leaving any of you...especially not you Jaehyun…” Taeyong replied with a firm nod.

      Taeyong clasped Jaehyun’s gloved hands now,

“I love you too much Jung Jaehyun…” He said seriously…

      He squeezed Jaehyun’s hands once more before letting go and watching as his lover walked to join the others a few paces away… They all had their gazes locked on Taeyong.

  
      Taeyong took a deep breath and gathered a small snow mound and placed it in the center of the granite pedestal, gently shaping it with his gloved hands into a small, round dome shape. He reached into his coat pocket and retrieved the quartz crystal and bottle of rosewater. Taeyong delicately placed the quartz crystal in the center of the snow dome he had made… He turned the bottle of rosewater over in his hands...this was it...it was happening… He closed his eyes and uncapped it, dousing the snow and crystal upon the pedestal with rosewater. He recalled the chant and began to recite it…  
 _“Mother of ice, mother of snow, Glaciesia I bow to thee and to thy legacy… Grant me to see you oh Deity of Ice, guide me to know thine ways of thine snow…”_ Taeyong recited aloud…

  
      The others gasps filled his ears and Taeyong opened his eyes...There she was… Glaciesia… she stood about eight feet tall and looked just as the book had described her… Long flowing silver hair that reached her knees and flowed around her in delicate loose curls, her eyes were bright milky white-ish blue, her stark white lashes scattering tiny snowflakes onto her cheekbones each time she blinked… Her skin so pale it had a blue hue to it… she indeed was dressed in a flowing white dress as white as snow itself that faded into a pale lilac towards the ends of her skirts, her arms covered by a thin translucent bit of fabric draped upon her shoulders...Icicles dripped from her earlobes like diamonds...ice crystals bloomed around her head like a circlet crown… she was stunning… She lifted her right hand out to Taeyong, the silver bangles that adorned her wrists jingling as she did so...Taeyong felt a force similar to what Jeno described feeling in Garni, draw him to her… He lifted his left hand and held it above her open palm, hesitating. She nodded… He felt at peace, and placed his palm in hers…

  
      Everything around him disappeared, no longer was he in thick winter wear, no… Rather, he was dressed in a silk flowing shirt similar to Glaciesia’s gown along with matching form fitting silk pants that had thin pale blue ribbons laced up his ankles and shins… No longer were they at the summit of Mount Kailash… but rather in a white marble palace… Taeyong looked around in awe...he only snapped out of his state of awe when the sound of barefoot footsteps ceased and the sound of fabric shifting and settling filled his ears. He turned his attention to the source of the sound and saw that Glaciesia had taken a seat in a white marble throne…

“ _Come…_ ” She spoke gently.

      Her voice was soft, melodic, and sweet...he had never heard a voice as soothing or as inviting as hers. He nodded and walked up to the throne where she sat. She waved her hand and a smaller marble throne materialized across from her, she gestured for Taeyong to have a seat, to which he obliged immediately. They sat in pure unadulterated silence for a few moments as she looked him over with a serene and loving gaze. Taeyong began to feel extremely intimidated by the being before him. She laughed softly.

“You’re intimidated...why is that?...” She pointed out and asked.

      Taeyong opened and closed his mouth several times in an attempt to form a coherent sentence… She only continued to smile at him…

“There is nothing to fear my darling...You are here for a reason…” She stated knowingly.

“It just...all hit me just now that here I am...seated in front of the deity who bestowed her gifts upon me...I-I can finally find answers to questions I’ve had ever since I first realized I could manipulate ice, frost and snow…” Taeyong spoke softly and respectfully.

“Mmm. Yes my darling I can imagine this is quite a riveting moment for you…” She spoke sweetly.

      She shifted a bit, her bangles upon her wrists jingling as she did so.

“Taeyong, you and your friend, Johnny...you discovered the lore of the original documented fifteen forces and deities...you two are very special among the others you know that?” She asked him.

“Jaehyun...holder of the abilities of electricity...my boyfriend...he told us we were...and that we had been the leaders in our search for answers...I only recently began to believe him…” Taeyong responded.

“I am one of the mother deities...when the other deities and I walked among Earth as physical beings, they looked to me for guidance in how they carried themselves among the physical realms...my direct counterpart, the Deity of Fire he was one of the other guides for the other deities… you see Taeyong, like humans, some of the deities are older than others...the natural based deities are the oldest since we have existed on Earth since the beginning of time...when the other deities were born from the cosmos, we helped guide them to knowing how to utilize their physical form and serve Earth with it… much like you and Johnny have in regards to your friends...it’s not a coincidence you were able to help Renjun feel more confident and more at ease with the greater bounds of his abilities.” She explained.

      Taeyong nodded, taking everything in. She sat a bit straighter in her throne and awaited for Taeyong to speak again.

“When Johnny and I discovered the journal a year ago...we read that speculation says you all gave up your physical forms for fear of being found out and doubted...is that true?” Taeyong asked.

      Glaciesia sighed solemnly.

“We gave up our physical forms because humanity had grown in ways we had not anticipated… we are not gods… just immortal omnipotent beings, created to establish balance, harmony, and life on Earth… humanity experienced a growth where any speech of other beings that were not a singular higher power, those people were deemed as heretics… You are aware of this I’m sure from history lessons… when one man claimed to have seen all of us and took to the town squares telling of us...it no longer became safe for us to walk among humanity… so we each returned to a place that connected with our domains, powers, and energies, and we gave up our physical forms and became one with Earth and the cosmos again...though we can choose to appear as apparitions if we so please…” She explained…

“The journal also said that you all waited for righteous people to come along to be granted the powers you all hold as deities…” Taeyong added.

“Yes...though we still are deities, being confined to the oneness of Earth and the cosmos we needed a new generation of physical beings to carry on our legacies...the times have changed, people are more accepting of these things now...those who were able to see us when we walked on Earth have long since passed...you and your friends are safe and are the keys to a new age of the deities roaming amongst humanity, you see the happenings of Earth through the eyes of a regular person, yet you possess the abilities and sensibilities to work as we once did...once everything becomes clear...you all will fully comprehend as a whole why you were chosen and what your destinies are...and you will serve as our descendants, walking among Earth in our footsteps with our guidances of course to do what we once did…” she explained gently.

      Taeyong nodded...he looked down at his lap briefly…

  
“So then…” he began before trailing off…

      He swallowed...this was the question he had been asking himself since the day he first discovered the power within him… He inhaled and looked back up at the stunning woman before him.

“Why did you choose me?...” he asked breathlessly.

      Glaciesia smiled lovingly at him. She laughed softly without opening her mouth… She lifted a hand, her bangles jingling, and flicked her wrist slowly… _ A crystal ball of ice floated in from around the corner and hovered between the two of them _ … Taeyong met her eyes with a look of confusion pooling in his eyes…

“As I told you darling, we chose who we thought was righteous based upon their actions in regards to others… people whom we saw be so selfless and giving that we knew they were the ones… People who shared the qualities, morals, characteristics, and sentiments of each individual deity… If you haven’t caught on by now… I’m speaking in past tense… meaning for all of you who were chosen...your actions in your past lives are what deemed you righteous…” She revealed.

      Taeyong felt his heart skip a beat... _ his past life _ … All words escaped him… he truly was speechless at her revelation… Glaciesia noticed this…

“You don’t have to respond my dear… I can only imagine that this is quite a bit to take in…” she spoke, having read Taeyong like an open book.

      She waved her hand over the crystal ice ball and images began to appear within it… Taeyong leaned a bit closer to try and see…

“Go ahead, look deep into the ball...your answers lie within…” She encouraged gently.

      Taeyong blinked in shock before rising from his seat and approaching the ice crystal to view what was flashing within it better… the marble palace faded from his vision as a bright flash of light engulfed his vision and he was overtaken by the images that danced within the crystal…

  
      He squinted his eyes open and saw an orphanage...Glaciesia’s voice spoke up from beside him…

“ _ In your past life you were an orphan… _ ” She spoke as the vision took them inside the orphanage where a young malnourished boy sat on the edge of a rusty worn bed.

“ _ You spent your entire life here...when you turned 18, you were legally kicked out of the orphanage since you were no longer a minor, this caused you to have to live out on the streets… _ ” Glaciesia spoke gently as the scenes before them shifted to his past life self wandering the streets alone at night.

“ _ The seasons turned...and this one particular night it was snowing… _ ” Glaciesia began as the scene before them changed again.

      Taeyong watched on as he saw his past life self wander the snow covered streets alone in nothing but threadbare clothes, worn out shoes, carrying only a blanket to serve as a source of warmth… He watched as his past life self came to a halt in front of a homeless woman cradling an infant child…

“ _ All you had was your threadbare clothes, worn out shoes and a single blanket...you gave away the blanket to that woman and her infant son after insisting they needed it more than you did. _ ” Glaciesia spoke as the vision showed the actions of his past life self…

      The vision faded...Taeyong found himself back in the white marble palace standing before the ice crystal again, Glaciesia standing up from her throne, her skirts fluttering around her as she moved.

“Because of this my dear.. _.you died of hypothermia... _ you sacrified yourself to the cold to save that woman and her baby…” Glaciesia spoke looking down at Taeyong.

      Taeyong was stunned...he always put the needs of other before himself...but he never thought that this characteristic of his would’ve led to his premature demise in his past life… 

  
      He looked up and met Glaciesia’s gentle gaze as she motioned for him to join her. He collected himself and moved to walk side by side with her as she began to walk down the long grand hall of the palace.

“Taeyong, what I value the most is love, selflessness, charity, and protection...your actions in your past life proved you to be perfect and the most righteous for my legacy…” Glaciesia explained.

“I’m...honored you chose me…” Taeyong managed to breathe out.

      She chuckled silently before coming to a halt...Taeyong looked ahead of him… the palace walls had faded the distance that advanced ahead of where they stood...He looked up that the eight foot tall deity in confusion… She smiled and knelt down to be closer to his level…

“My darling Taeyong…” she began warmly as she cupped his cheek with her large dainty hand...

“It’s time for you to return to your friends...I believe your life long questions have been answered have they not?” She asked with smile.

“They have your majesty…” Taeyong replied.

      She smiled lovingly at him… 

  
      She reached up to the ice crystals that bloomed around her head and plucked one from her forehead… She waved her free hand over it delicately and it had shrunken down and became a pendant on a chain… She placed it over Taeyong’s head around his neck…

“My darling, from here on out you will begin your next step of your journey into truly becoming a descendant deity...all of your friends will experience this...this pendant is a piece of me, the ignition to begin your change… you will begin to notices small changes, some physical, some in regards to your abilities, some in regards to your being as a person, and some in regards to your sensibilities…” she explained.

“I-I’m going to change?...” Taeyong asked nervously.

“Physically?...Only a little bit...but that should occur...hm well...you’ll see my dear…” She smiled at him.

“You said I will be able to call upon you when I need you...how will I do that?...” Taeyong asked.

“Use the pendant...and Taeyong?...” She smiled.

“Yes your majesty?” Taeyong replied.

“ _Know that I am always with you…_ ” Glaciesia spoke softly before she placed a delicate kiss to Taeyong’s forehead…

  
      When Taeyong opened his eyes he was back on the summit of Mount Kailash, the frigid wind blowing harshly against his face… He looked down and saw he was back in his regular winter wear he had come here in…

“ _The others…_ ” He thought and immediately turned his head in their direction…

“Tae! Are you alright?!” Jaehyun called out to him.

      Taeyong blinked, taking one last look at the granite pedestal before turning and walking towards the others…

“Yeah...I’m alright…” Taeyong began softly before furrowing his brows and shaking his head.

“No...no I’m more than alright... _I’m wonderful_ …” Taeyong smiled…

“Are you ready to head home?...” Renjun asked.

“Yes...lets head home…” Taeyong nodded.

      The boys all joined hands and Renjun closed his eyes…  _ Three… Two… One… Neo City  _ _ Café…  _ Renjun thought…

  
      The group of eighteen felt solid ground beneath their feet once again and immediately began shedding the copious layers of thick winter clothing now that they were back home and in a warm environment. As Taeyong pulled off his last few layers, he reached his hands up to the ski mask and goggles that were concealing his face. He pulled both off in one swift motion. As he ran his fingers through his hair to rid himself of the hat-hair he presumed he had, he noticed the others staring at him with wide eyes.

“I-Is something wrong?...” Taeyong asked in confusion.

“H-hyung…” Mark trailed off softly, his doe-like eyes wide and full of shock.

“Y-your hair…” Ten finished.

      Taeyong rushed towards the mirror that hung on the opposite wall of the study… He saw his reflection and indeed Glaciesia was right...a physical change _had_ occurred… Taeyong’s previously honey blonde locks had been replaced by an ashy silver color with faint tiny streaks of white… He reached a slim hand up to twist a lock of it between his thumb and index finger… he smiled softly and laughed.

“At least it’s a nice color…” He remarked as he turned back to the others.

      They all breathed a sigh of relief…

  
“So hyung...what happened?…” Jeno asked softly.

      Taeyong smiled and nodded towards the table…

“Why don’t we all sit down and I’ll tell you everything…” Taeyong offered.

      The other boys nodded and moved to have a seat at the table.

  
      An hour later Taeyong had just begun wrapping up his retelling of all that happened.

“She gave me this crystal..she told me it was the ignition for my change and a way to call upon her…” Taeyong explained as he looked down at the crystal pendant that hung from his neck...he chuckled softly.

“She also said I would have my physical change but told me I’d just have to wait and see...I didn’t expect it to be my hair…” Taeyong smiled at the memory of her words.

“That’s wild…” Ten shook his head in disbelief…

“So we all did something in a past life to be deemed worthy?” Jisung asked softly.

“That’s what she told me…” Taeyong nodded and smiled.

“Wow…” Kun breathed in shock…

“I know...it’s a lot to take in and when you meet your deity, it’ll be even more to take in… but I can honestly say I’ve never felt more at peace than I do now…” Taeyong explained.

      The room fell silent as they let all they had just been told sink in and resonate within themselves… Suddenly Doyoung sat up quickly, grabbing the attention of those in a direct line of sight to him.

“You okay Doyoung?...” Ten asked the other.

“Kun, you said only one deity shows itself in the book at a time...do you think that since Taeyong-hyung discovered his sought after answers that another deity has been revealed?” Doyoung asked.

      Kun blinked in thought before pulling out the tome and opening it… he turned to the page Glaciesia’s entry was written on...however, now the ink had become a bold stark black color as opposed to its previous faded grey color…

“The ink...it looks... _permanent_...but I don’t see another entry yet…” Kun explained as he pointed to the ancient pages…

“Then I suppose we must wait until the next entry is revealed…” Taeyong added softly…

      The others nodded...One Deity had been discovered and connected to their descendant… the others would be connected to their respective deity soon enough...they just had to continue being patient...

  
  



	17. Chapter 57: "The Flame Grows Stronger Still..."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello everyone!~ Here's the next chapter!!! I hope you enjoy it and let me know what you think!  
>  **A few quick things before you start reading!!!**  
>  1.) I hope everyone had happy healthy holidays and rested well!  
> 2.) Happy New Year!!! Thank you all for coming this far with me, we get to see another year together!~  
> 3.) If you go to either the top of the page where all the tags and such are for this fic, or scroll to the bottom where the "previous chapter" and "next chapter" buttons are, you will see that there is a button to take you to the series this work and Part One are located in. In this series space you will find a third work which I created called "Ask The Author!~" There is an introduction page (chapter) explaining what it is, but in summary, I'd love it if you all would leave any questions you have for me in the comments over there and I will answer each ask individually in a new "chapter". You can either leave comments on "chapter" one or on the most recent answer page. If you're interested please check it out and leave me an ask!~ I thought that by doing this it would create an even better connection between me as a person and author and all of you who read this story~  
> 4\. Please see the notes at the end after reading this chapter~ They're important!
> 
> Forever Your Author,  
> ~Kensley

      Almost a week had passed since the boys had journeyed to Mount Kailash Tibet where Taeyong had met his deity and learned why he was chosen to be the holder over the abilities of ice and frost...The boys had quickly formed friendships with Kun, Jungwoo and Lucas, then again all that happened on Mount Kailash and in the café, definitely had a role in the now group of eighteen boys bonding with ease so quickly. The first real discovery had been made, and now they waited in patient unison for the next page to reveal itself within the Archives of Deities.

      Taeyong sighed inwardly to himself as he picked up empty mugs and glasses from the table in the study and placed them onto the tray he was carrying.

“Does anyone need or want anything?” He asked as he placed the last empty mug onto the tray balanced on his left forearm.

“May I please have a jasmine tea latte Taeyong-hyung?” Kun asked him politely.

“Of course I’ll be right back with that.” Taeyong nodded before turning on his heel and carrying the tray to the wash counter in the back of the back kitchen for him to wash.

      He walked back out to the main area of the café, keeping behind the counter where the drink machines and other barista accoutrements resided. He sighed as he gently held the wide mouthed mug in place under the lip of the tea kettle as he poured in the bittersweet rosy-gold liquid. He gently took hold of the milk foaming receptacle and gave the fluffy, thick, pink tinted, jasmine milk a quick whisk before artfully and carefully pouring it into the mug creating a design of a swan within the foam.

“Perfect as always…” Winwin said with a soft smile from where he stood next to Taeyong at the espresso machine as he waited for the dark liquid to finish brewing.

      Taeyong smiled softly and waved the younger off. Winwin laughed gently at his hyung’s embarrassed reaction to his compliment. Taeyong gently picked up the mug and put it on a saucer that was sitting on a fresh tray, he then took two macarons from the sweets display case and placed them on the saucer as well. He lifted the tray and walked back to the study to deliver the drink and confectioneries.

“Here Kun-ah...one jasmine tea latte and two macarons...one green tea, one espresso.” Taeyong smiled as he set down the mug and saucer in front of the younger male.

“Thank you so much Taeyong hyung…” Kun replied graciously.

      Taeyong nodded and turned on his heel and moved to walk towards the main area of the café again. Though...just as he was a few steps away from the door to the hallway to walk to the main area of the café, the sound of sputtering followed by coughing filled his ears… Taeyong whipped his head back in the direction of the table and saw Kun coughing into a napkin. Taeyong rushed back over to him…

“Kun-ah! Kun! Are you alright?!” He asked worriedly as he placed a gentle hand on the younger male’s back.

“I-I’m fine…” Kun said after one final soft cough.

“What happened?...” Taeyong asked with concern pooling in his caring eyes.

“L-Look…” Kun said as he nodded in the direction of the tome in front of him on the table…

  
      Taeyong shifted his gaze to the tome and his eyes widened...A new page had been revealed…

“O-Oh my god…” Taeyong breathed out in awe.

“It caught me by surprise and I choked on my drink when I turned the page and saw that this had appeared since I last flipped through…” Kun explained…

      Taeyong traced his slim fingers over the soft grey text... _Deity of Flame, and Fire... Ignisium…_

“The Deity of Fire…” Kun spoke softly.

“I’ll go get Johnny…” Taeyong replied before turning on his heel to jog out to the main area of the café.

  
      He found Johnny handing a customer their drink in a to-go cup with a bright smile… Taeyong waited until the customer was out of earshot before walking over to Johnny and gently grabbing his wrist to get his attention. Johnny looked over his shoulder and down slightly, locking eyes with Taeyong.

“Oh, Taeyong...you surprised me for a second there…” Johnny said with a soft amused laugh.

“Johnny...a new page has appeared…” Taeyong said seriously.

      The jovial, carefree grin faded from the taller boy’s lips and his eyes darken with seriousness…

“Whose page is it?...” He asked Taeyong.

“It’s yours…” Taeyong answered.

      Johnny’s eyes widened a bit… Was he really ready?... Of course he had been bottling all his wonders and questions up in his mind ever since he was a child but… was he ready to go through what Taeyong had gone through with his deity?... Johnny inhaled softly and nodded…

“You ready for this?...” Taeyong asked.

“Yeah...I’m ready to move on and finally understand all of this…” Johnny replied firmly.

      Taeyong nodded in response.

  
      The two walked back to the study where all the other boys had gathered at the table. Kun slid the tome to Johnny after the older had taken a seat at the table… Johnny took a deep breath before running his hand along the page… _“Deity of Flame and Fire… Ignisium…”_ was scrawled in the same intricate cursive Glaciesia’s entry had been written in… Johnny cleared his throat softly before reading aloud…

 

>       _“Ignisium… Deity of Fire and Flame… he rests at the heart of a fire temple home to the eternal flame… He wears a dark orange sleeveless shirt, dark reddish-brown, fitted leather pants with gold strings laced around his ankles… around his midsection sits a gold belt, his arms both adorned with armbands...a large ruby ring sits upon his right ring finger… He is most often seen barefoot however on rare occasions has been seen with black leather slippers… he has warm light tan skin and reddish-brown freckles scattered all over his body… His eyes a piercing shade of golden orange...his hair falls to about his upper chest in a fiery shade of red with streaks and undertones of maroon and dark brown...He acts as one of the leading deities due to the notion he is the eldest male deity and one of the natural deities… he is strong, wise, caring, and protective...his final place of Earth he returned to lies within the heart of the Fire Temple of Baku in Baku Azerbaijan…”_

      Johnny finished the first passage and let the information sink in… His gaze moved to the beautiful sketch of what Ignisium supposedly looked like… He was toned, but not overly so, and indeed strong and protective looking in appearance. As Johnny’s eyes looked over the picture he moved his attention down to the second passage off to the side of the sketch and parted his lips to read what was written out loud for the others…

 

>       _“Ignisium is seen in one of several places within the heart of the temple, occasionally as an apparition to those who visit the temple… He has been spotted within the main inner temple where the eternal flame sits, either sitting in meditation by it, leaning against one of the walls, or walking around and standing beside visitors to the temple...he has also been spotted sitting by the fire pit outside of the inner temple and seen roaming around the grounds that surround the inner temple behind the temple walls… To summon him go to the inner temple where the eternal flame lies and at the edge of the receptacle the eternal flame sits within place a stone of amber, a stick of cinnamon, and a gold coin in a triangle formation, then douse with black tea. Once this is done you must chant to him the following:_  
>  _“Father of flame, guardian of fire, Ignisium I bow to thee and to thy legacy dear sire… Grant me to see thee and thine fire, the source of life and warmth...guide me to se thine tame within these flames…”_

      Johnny sat in thought as he re read the passages making sure he hadn’t missed anything… The other’s remained silent as they awaited Johnny’s response… Johnny gently closed the tome and handed it back to Kun.

“I guess I need to go buy a cinnamon stick and a stone of amber…” Johnny said as he broke the silence.

“We’re going from one extreme to another...Ice-capped mountains to the home of the eternal flame…” Doyoung pointed out.

      The others laughed softly in response to this. Taeyong glanced at Renjun, and before Taeyong could even speak a single word Renjun nodded.

“I’m ready hyung.” Renjun said confidently.

      Taeyong smiled proudly at him… He had come so far since they had first began helping Renjun develop his abilities to teleport multiple people long distances, and Taeyong couldn’t be more proud of him...or of any of the others… They all had come so far...Together… As a family...

  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> **IMPORTANT INFORMATION ABOUT THE STORY!!!**  
>  As a brief reminder: As I previously mentioned, I did a TON of research for this story and now you are finally seeing it. For each deity and place that is uncovered there is a history documented in the tome that Kun now has possession of. Each Deity has a final place on Earth from when they gave up their human physical forms for good and became one with Earth in waiting to bestow their powers onto worth righteous individuals. This tome documents these places along with the descriptions of the deities themselves, their characteristics and their appearance. However as seen in previous chapters some of the places are obvious, like The Temple Of Helios as Chenle pointed out. So as I write each chapter with new deities and new discoveries, I will add the reasonings for why I chose these specific places... So here is why I chose what I did~
> 
>  **Fire Temple of Baku, Baku, Azerbaijan:** The Fire Temple of Baku is a temple situated and erected over a naturally occurrent gas vent and deposit which has served as a natural fuel for the eternal flame which has burned for centuries. This temple is an important site for Zoroastrians and Hindus due to the fact that is is a place of worship for both religions.  
>  **Ignisium:** I created the name Ignisium using the Latin words for fire (Ignis) and burning (Incendium) so by using these together his name means "Fire Burning" in Latin.  
>  I hope this all makes sense and makes the story a little bit more interesting!~  
> ~Kensley


	18. Chapter 58: "To The Fire Temple of Baku..."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> **PLEASE READ!!!**
> 
> Hello everyone! I am so sorry for the long hold up. I've been a bit busy with college life and my classes. But, in the time that I've been writing this chapter we passed a milestone. February 1st, 2019 was the one and a half year anniversary since I started this fic!~ That in itself is CRAZY to me! So again I'd like to thank all of you who have kept up with this fic, for all of you who have been here since the beginning when this started on my Tumblr... For those of you who have been reading, supporting and commenting all this time no matter how long you've been a reader of my works... Thank you, from the bottom of my heart... it means the absolute world to me... and I hope I can continue to excite you as this story unravels... That being said, enjoy the long awaited update!~  
> Let me know what you think!~ And don't forget to check out my Ask The Author section (this is located in the Superpower AU Series folder this work is in)  
> Forever Your Author,  
> ~Kensley

      It had been several hours since the latest page had revealed itself within the tome to the boys, Johnny had left work early to go find his needed items while Yuta stepped in to cover Johnny’s shift. The day had gone on just as any other day would have… despite the fact that the only thing on everyone’s minds was that they were going to the fire temple later that evening.

“Mount Kailash was easy to prepare for...coats and insulative wear are a given...but what in the hell do we wear to The Fire Temple?” Yuta asked as he scrubbed down the café counter.

“My best guess is something lightweight…” Taeyong mused from where he stood cleaning the glass of the dessert display case.

“And flame retardant…” Winwin quipped from a few feet away where he was stacking the chairs on tables.

      The others hummed in agreement. They heard the back door open from beyond the hallway leading to the door that opened to the study followed by the sound of muffled voices.

“Johnny must be back.” Jaehyun mused as he threw the dust-covers over the espresso machines.

  
      Winwin lowered the blinds and flipped the café sign to “Closed” before turning to Taeyong who nodded and then flicked off the lights in the shop. Both of them made their way to the back where the study was. After both passing through the door to the study their eyes fell upon the rest of their friends who were shedding their light sweaters suited for the cool early spring air, and donning clothes better suited for the warmer weather of Azerbaijan.

“Does everyone have a light jacket or something like that just in case?” Taeyong asked.

“Aren’t we going to the fire temple hyung?” Jisung asked raising an eyebrow.

“Yes but that doesn’t mean it’s not going to be cool… it’s barely April and there’s a 10 degree difference in temperatures between here and there, it’s still cool in the mornings there.” Taeyong lectured.

“Tae, the low temperature for the day over there right now is 12 degrees. The high for the day is 16 degrees… I think we’ll be fine without jackets.” Jaehyun eased as he rubbed the elder’s shoulder.

      Taeyong sighed through his nose and shook his head slightly. He glanced around and counted in his head as he scanned over every boy in the room, and nodded to himself as he counted eighteen including himself.

“Alright, is everyone ready?” Taeyong asked.

      A chorus of “yes’s” echoed from the group of boys in front of him.

“Alright then…” He trailed off as his eyes flickered over to Renjun who nodded at him with a smile.

      Taeyong felt his heart swell with pride for the younger boy.

      Everyone joined hands and turned their gazes towards Renjun...Renjun closed his eyes and counted down… _Three… Two… One... Fire Temple of Baku, Baku Azerbaijan…_ he thought...

  
      In a matter of seconds, the group of friends felt the sensation of solid ground beneath their feet and began to open their eyes… Under their feet lay the dry hard ground of the sun-dried dirt. The boys looked around them in awe, Baku was unlike anything they had ever seen… It was a dry, hot, and desert-like place, but still held an air of elegance to it…

“So this is it…” Taeyong mused.

“Yeah...it looks exactly like the photos…” Johnny breathed.

      The two turned around and were met with the sight of a large stone wall…

“Think this is it?” Taeyong asked.

“Yeah...it has to be...it feels...familiar…” Johnny answered.

      Taeyong nodded and turned back to the group, doing a headcount before clearing his throat and speaking up.

“Alright, everyone stay together, we’re going to head inside now.” Taeyong said.

      Everyone nodded, and began making their way to the entrance to the temple. 

 

      Once inside Johnny carefully scanned the sights around him, eyes narrowed as he meticulously took in every minute detail of the temple… He felt his breath hitch and the warm feeling of familiarity bloom brighter in his chest… There...That had to be the main inner temple…

“Taeyong, I think that’s it… I’m going to go in… have everyone wait outside of it… like we did for you, just in case something goes wrong.” Johnny said firmly.

“I will.” Taeyong responded.

      Johnny inhaled and nodded to himself before starting off in the direction of the main inner temple. He slowly walked up the three steps of the small gazebo-like stone structure and immediately saw the receptacle that held the eternal flame. He knelt down by the edge of the receptacle and began to follow his given steps… He placed the stone of amber, the stick of cinnamon, and the gold coin on the edge of the receptacle in a triangular formation… He pulled a small vial of black tea he had brewed earlier from his pocket and began dousing the items with it. Johnny took a deep breath before closing his eyes and recited the chant…

“ _Father of flame, guardian of fire, Ignisium I bow to thee and to thy legacy dear sire… Grant me to see thee and thine fire, the source of life and warmth...guide me to se thine tame within these flames…”_ Johnny recited aloud.

      He could hear the soft gasps of the other from behind him outside...Johnny swallowed thickly and opened his eyes. There he was… Ignisium...he was about nine feet tall and looked just as the tome had described him...He wore a dark orange sleeveless shirt, dark reddish-brown, fitted leather pants with gold strings laced around his ankles, a gold belt around his midsection, his arms both adorned with armbands, a large ruby ring upon his right ring finger, and bare feet… He had warm light tan skin and reddish-brown freckles scattered all over his body… His eyes were piercing warm shade of golden orange that Johnny felt looking into him as if he were made of glass… His hair fell to about his upper chest in a fiery shade of red with streaks and undertones of maroon and dark brown… He had a soft smile on his face as he looked down at Johnny before extending his hand out to him. Johnny felt an unseen force drawing him closer to Ignisium. He hesitated, but Ignisium nodded and in that moment Johnny felt a sense ease and comfort wash over him...he placed his hand into the deity’s…

  
      Everything around him had vanished...the temple, his friends..all of it gone… No longer was he clad in his tee shirt and ripped blue jeans… Now Johnny was dressed in a dark red sleeveless shirt with black and gold embroidery on it, along with form fitting black leather pants with gold ribbons laced around his ankles like Ignisium had… No longer were they in the temple… but rather a maroon, black, and dark brown toned palace… Johnny took in his surroundings in amazement… he wished he had his camera to capture the impressive beauty of this place… He snapped out of his daze when he heard the crackle of fire come from behind him. He turned around and saw that Ignisium was now seated in an obsidian throne, adorned by two gold podium with fires atop them blazing brightly…

“Come…” he spoke…

      His voice was warm, soft, inviting, and a bit lower in pitch… If Johnny had to compare it to anything he had heard before it would have been the ultimate radio host’s voice… pleasant, smooth, and rich… Ignisium waved his hand and a smaller obsidian throne materialized in front of him, he motioned for Johnny to have a seat. Johnny obeyed immediately. They sat in a brief silence as Ignisium looked him over for a few moments with a warm smile playing across his lips…

“You’re nervous my boy… why is that so?...” Ignisium asked.

“I-I guess it’s because I don’t exactly know what this encounter holds in store for me…” Johnny responded earnestly.

“Mmm I see...yes I suppose this is quite a major moment hm?” Ignisium mused with a warm hum.

      He shifted slightly in is throne, running his fingers over his chin in thought as he looked down at Johnny…

“Johnny, you and your friend, Taeyong...you discovered the lore of the original documented fifteen forces and deities...you two are very special among the others you know that right?” Ignisium asked him.

“Jaehyun...holder of the abilities of electricity, one of my best friends… He said that Taeyong and I were special… and that we should guide the team… I-I guess he was right…” Johnny replied with a soft laugh.

“I am one of the parent deities...when the other deities and I walked among Earth as physical beings, they looked to me for guidance in how they carried themselves among the physical realms...my direct counterpart, the Deity of Ice, Glaciesia... she was one of the guides for the other deities… you see Johnny, like humans, some of the deities are older than others...the natural based deities are the oldest since we have existed on Earth since the beginning of time...when the other deities were born from the cosmos, we helped guide them to knowing how to utilize their physical form and serve Earth with it… much like you and Taeyong have in regards to your friends...” Ignisium explained.

      Johnny hummed in thought…

“Taeyong spoke to us after he met Glaciesia...he told us how you all gave up your physical forms...because of heresy…” Johnny prompted.

“Yes, that is correct… We gave up our physical forms because humanity had grown in ways we had not anticipated… we are not gods, just immortal omnipotent beings, created to establish balance, harmony, and life on Earth… humanity experienced growth where any speech of other beings that were not a singular higher power, those people were deemed as heretics… You are aware of this I’m sure from history lessons… when one man claimed to have seen all of us and took to the town squares telling of us...it no longer became safe for us to walk among humanity… so we each returned to a place that connected with our domains, powers, and energies, and we gave up our physical forms and became one with Earth and the cosmos again...though we can choose to appear as apparitions if we so please…” Ignisium confirmed.

      Johnny inhaled softly…

“The journal told us that once you all gave up your physical forms...you waited for righteous people to come along to bestow your abilities upon them...Taeyong’s meeting with Glaciesia only confirmed this… Taeyong was chosen for an act of charity he did in his past life… Taeyong said that Glaciesia told him we all did something in our past lives to be deemed worthy… So...why did you choose me?...” Johnny asked hesitantly.

      Ignisium smiled and chuckled softly… he flicked his wrist and a red tinted crystal ball floated down from the ceiling and hovered between them… Johnny looked up from the crystal ball and met Ignisium’s eyes and cocked an eyebrow at him. Ignisium laughed brightly…

“You are probably wondering what the meaning of this is hm?” Ignisium mused with a small grin.

“I am…” Johnny replied.

“I’d like to give you the answers that you’ve longed for your whole life…” Ignisium stated as he sat up straighter and leaned closer.

“You’re showing me my past life?...” Johnny asked in surprise.

      Ignisium nodded and waved a hand over the crystal orb… Small images began to swirl inside the orb…

“Go on, look deep into the crystal...your answers lie within my boy…” Ignisium spoke.

      Johnny nodded hesitantly before rising from his seat and approaching the crystal and peering inside…A bright flash filled his vision...

_  
An office building came into view… Ignisium spoke up from behind him…_

“ _You were...an accountant in the 1980’s…_ ” Ignisium started.

       _The vision brought them into the building, to a cubicle where Johnny’s past life self sat at a cubicle desk, phone between his cheek and his shoulder as he spoke into the receiver of the phone and punched numbers into a number processing machine. Johnny stared in awe… he let out a soft breathy laugh…_

“That’s crazy… I could _never_ see myself as an accountant…” Johnny mused.

       _The vision morphed and suddenly they were standing outside of a house on the street of a quaint suburban neighborhood…_

“A house?...” Johnny mumbled aloud…

       _The vision brought them within the house… The living room more specifically… A young woman sat at in the tan colored armchair on one end of the room…_

 _“You had a family...”_ Ignisum spoke before getting cut off by soft laughter…

_“Mommy! Mommy! Daddy’s home!!!” a young girl giggled happily as she bounced on the balls of her feet in front of the woman._

       _The woman smiled and patted the top of her head before closing the book she was reading and moving past where Ignisum and Johnny stood, walking towards a motorized baby swing, and lifting a small infant from it._

 _“A wife and two children whom you adored…”_ Ignisium finished.

      Johnny watched speechlessly as his past life self walked in through the front door, kneeled down and enveloped the young girl in a tight hug as he ruffled her hair and kissing her cheeks… He picked her up and  stood, kissing his wife before placing a kiss on his infant son’s forehead…

 _“You did everything for them… they were your pride and joy… every day you thanked God for all you had, you were living the life you had always dreamed of…”_ Ignisium spoke as the vision showed sped up scenes of his past self and his wife playing with their children and then tucking them into bed…

  
      The vision moved away from the lovely scenes and instead showed an image of a cracked pipe behind their stove in the kitchen… Suddenly a fuse behind the stove broke, and bright orange sparks flew from the fuse… The sparks made contact with the pipe...it was a gas pipe… gas had been leaking… it went up in flames immediately… The fire spread rapidly…

 _“There was a gas leak...your stove blew a fuse and the whole house went up in flames…It was the smell of smoke that woke you and your wife from your deep slumber...the smoke alarms had malfunctioned and hadn’t gone off… When you both had bolted out of bed, flames were already licking at your bedroom door…”_ Ignisium spoke with a heavy voice.

      Johnny watched in horror as his past self and his wife stood before the growing flames in horror...

 _“You were overcome with an immense need to protect what you loved so very dearly…”_ Ignisium explained…

      Johnny watched as his past self swept his wife up into his arms and carried her downstairs and outside placing her on the grass…

 _“You carried your wife outside to safety but your son and daughter were still inside… So you sprinted back into the house and grabbed your daughter and carried her outside…”_ Ignisium explained as the vision played before them…

 _“Your son was the last one… so you sprinted back in one final time…”_ Ignisium stated…

     The vision continued to play before a sickening crack and vicious crackling sounds filled their ears… The stairs has collapsed right before Johnny’s eyes as he held his son…

 _“The stairs had collapsed and time was running out… so you thought fast… ran back to the nursery and laid your son back in his bassinet, bundling him with multiple layers… then sprinting to the window…”_ Ignisium spoke solemnly.

      Johnny watched as his past self flung open the window and yelled for his wife before gently tossing the bassinet down to her…

 _“You tossed the bassinet to your wife… putting your treasured family in total safety… but there wasn’t an exit for you…the flames consumed and the floor you had been standing on collapsed beneath you…”_ Ignisium explained softly…

      The vision began to fade in color as Johnny caught the last glimpses of his now sobbing wife and children…

 _“You never made it out…you became one with the fire that night my boy...”_ Ignisium sighed with a heavy heart.

  
      Johnny felt his heart throb...though he was relieved that his past life’s family had been saved, he felt sorrowful for them that he had departed from them in such a tragic way… he wished he could offer them comfort now…

“Your highness?...” Johnny asked softly, still in shock from the new information.

“Yes my boy?” Ignisium replied.

“What was my name in my past life?” Johnny asked.

“Andrew Kim…” Ignisium said with a sigh.

      The vision dissipated from around them and they were suddenly back in the throne room.

  
      Johnny blinked up at Ignisium speechlessly. Ignisium nodded before clearing his throat and speaking.

“You see my boy, the traits I value are strength, valor, courage, and loyalty…” Ignisium spoke as he stood up from the obsidian throne and began to walk through the large palace hall.

      He motioned for Johnny to follow him. Johnny immediately moved from where he stood and caught up to Ignisium.

“You exemplified these in your everyday life in your past life, but none of it surpasses the ultimate sacrifice of your life to protect what you loved… my boy that is why I chose you… that is why you are righteous and a perfect successor to my name and legacy.” Ignisium spoke with a proud smile adorning his features.

“I am honored that you chose me…” Johnny said as he bowed respectfully to the deity before him.

      Ignisium chuckled softly…

“My boy, I believe that it is time for you to join your friends again…” Ignisium smiled, his golden amber eyes sparkling.

“I suppose so your highness…” Johnny smiled sadly, not wishing to depart from his deity quite yet…

“Do not fret my boy...I am always with you… I always have been… ever since you were born… I’ve been keeping an eye on you since then… now I will be closer though… You do not have to fear that I will disappear… I am not going anywhere…” Ignisium spoke as he kneeled down to be closer to Johnny’s level.

      Ignisium took the small of the two ruby rings he wore off of his hand and waved a hand over it, causing it to shrink down to Johnny’s ring size… He held it out to Johnny who gingerly took it and slipped it onto his right hand ring finger…

“My boy, from here on out you will begin your next step of your journey into truly becoming a descendant deity...all of your friends will go through this...this ring is a piece of me, the ignition to begin your change… you will begin to notices small changes, some physical, some in regards to your abilities, some in regards to your being as a person, and some in regards to your sensibilities…” He explained.

“I’m going to change like Taeyong did?...” Johnny asked curiously.

“Only a little bit...but...well...you’ll see my boy…” He smiled at him.

“You said I will be able to call upon you when I need you...how will I do that?...” Johnny asked.

“Use the ring...and Johnny?...” He smiled.

“Yes your highness?” Johnny replied.

“Know that I am always with you…no matter what” Ignisium spoke softly before he placed a delicate kiss to Johnny’s forehead…

  
      When Johnny opened his eyes again he was back in the inner temple of the Fire Temple...the eternal flame crackling by his feet, its warm light casting a warm glow onto his features. He looked down and saw he no longer wore what he had been wearing in the palace...but rather the same striped three quarters length sleeve shirt, black ripped skinny jeans and red converse he had been wearing before.

 _“The others…”_ He thought…

      He turned around and saw that everyone was still standing just outside the inner temple…

“Johnny?...” Ten asked softly.

“Johnny?...You alright?...” Taeyong asked as he moved to walk up the three steps to the inner temple.

      Johnny broke into a bright smile and laughed

“I’m perfectly fine!~” He smiled at them and began walking out of the inner temple structure to join them on the ground outside.

      Johnny glanced over his shoulder and took one last look at the inner temple structure where the eternal flame laid. He smiled to himself before turning back to his friends.

“You ready to head back?” Jaehyun asked.

“Yeah… Let's go home…” Johnny replied with a soft smile.

      Renjun nodded and everyone joined hands once again and once everyone was in place and linked up with one another, Renjun closed his eyes _...Three… Two… One… Neo City Caf_ _é_ … he thought…

  
      Once again the group of friends felt the sensation of ground beneath them and opened their eyes. They were back in the café and were making their way to the large table to sit down and listen to what Johnny had to tell them…

“So how’d you die in your past life?” Lucas asked.

      Kun lightly smacked the back of his head.

“OW!” Lucas whined.

“You don’t just ask someone that!” Kun chided.

      Lucas pouted as he folded his arms over his chest and slouched in his chair.

“Well...apparently I had a family...a wife...two kids...there was a house fire...I got them all out but I never got out…” Johnny sighed sadly at the thought again…

“Damn…” Ten breathed…

“Well it’s been made evident that the reason why we were all chosen is because of something we did in a past life… meaning we died… so obviously none of our past lives stories are going to be pleasant.” Taeil spoke…

“Did Ignisium give you a gift like Glaciesia did with Taeyong hyung?” Chenle piped up softly.

“Yeah...this ring… it’s a smaller version of the large ruby one he wears…” Johnny said as he held up his hand…

“Oh it’s so pretty hyu- OH MY GOD!” Chenle yelled in surprise.

“Chenle?...What’s the matter?...” Johnny flashed his dongsaeng a look of confusion.

“Woah…” the others chimed in softly now…

      Right before their eyes Johnny’s hair was changing colors and growing out longer… Johnny of course only noticed when he noticed his fringe falling past his eyes and reaching the apples of his cheeks. He reached a hand up to his hair and felt his pulse quicken… He bolted up from his chair and ran to the mirror that hung on the wall… His hair was now at least two inches longer and his honey brown color had morphed into a reddish brown color… he ran a hand through it…

“Damn… I haven’t had hair this long in a long time…” Johnny mumbled in amusement.

“It looks nice…” Ten smiled with a small glint sparkling in his eyes.

“I predict manbuns and small ponytails soon.” Mark smirked at the elder boy.

“Think I can pull it off?~” Johnny fired back at the younger.

“You be the judge of that Mr. Fashion Police” Mark shrugged with a laugh.

      Johnny laughed and returned to his seat at the table.

   
“Kun, has Ignisium’s entry been solidified in the tome yet?” Taeyong asked.

      Kun opened the tome and turned to the page on which Ignisium’s page had appeared on… There they saw that the text had in fact become bold and black ink like Glaciesia’s entry had after Taeyong had met with her…

“That’s two of us down…” Taeyong mused as he scanned over the tome, then looked up and out at all the others.

“16 of us left…” He smiled.

“Now we’re getting somewhere.” Johnny smiled from where he sat beside Taeyong...

 


	19. Chapter 59: "Ashes Of The Past..."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

>  **PLEASE READ!!!**  
>  Okay so in this chapter, Johnny takes a trip back to Chicago, while I was doing this I thought I'd create a non-existent place in Chicago as an NCT pun so I called it "127 Cherry Drive" though I got curious and I wanted to see if this was a real place at all anywhere in the world...and to my shock I saw that there is a legitimate place in Chicago that is called "Cherry Lane"... I was shocked to see this and I thought it was an incredible coincidence... So, I changed it to Cherry Lane... Anyways I hope you understand what I was trying to do here in this chapter and I hope you enjoy the research I did.  
> Forever Your Author,  
> ~Kensley

      It had been a while since Johnny had met Ignisium and things were back to normal with the group of friends...still no new entries in the tome yet...

“So hyung, you’re going back to Chicago for spring break?” Mark asked Johnny as he washed out the milk steamer.

      Johnny smiled softly and nodded as he took off his apron and folded it over his left forearm.

“Yeah, I haven’t been to my hometown in a while, it’ll be nice to see some old friends…” Johnny replied to the younger.

“Yeah I feel that. I miss Canada sometimes… but you know, I have a whole other family here… that helps a lot.” Mark smiled as he placed the milk steamer on the drying rack.

      Johnny ruffled his hair with a bright laugh.

“I’m rubbing off on you too much! You’re being sappy like me Markie!” Johnny laughed.

      Mark laughed and playfully wrestled Johnny’s hand off of his head.

“Cut it out! That tickles!” Mark giggled.

      Taeyong and Jaehyun came out from the back and watched the two with loving smiles. Taeyong laughed and sighed as he shook his head before speaking…

“Always having fun hm?” Taeyong mused.

      Mark blushed in embarrassment

“Ah sorry Taeyong hyung.” Mark said as he scratched the back of his neck.

“Ah nonsense Mark-ah, it warms our hearts...we all still remember how painfully shy you were when Johnny first approached you all that time ago.” Taeyong said lovingly.

“Johnny hyung approaching me when I was alone that day and offering me a job here is definitely one of the best things that have ever happened to me. I really have the best hyungs, co-workers...and friends…” Mark smiled.

      Taeyong whined and rushed towards the younger and wrapped him in a tight hug. Johnny beamed at this and tackled hugged the two of them. Jaehyun joined in and ruffled Mark’s hair.

“We love you Minhyung-ah…” Taeyong smiled.

“Why’d you use my Korean name just now hyung?” Mark asked.

“To convey how sincere I’m being…” Taeyong smiled.

      Mark felt his heart flutter. He was so grateful for his hyungs, all of his friends, and all the joy the other seventeen boys he knew and loved.

  
      Later that night, Johnny heaved his suitcase up onto his bed with a soft groan. He continued folding his clothes and neatly placing them inside the suitcase. Taeyong watched his Johnny pack, seeing as all his movement was distracting Taeyong from his book he was reading.

“You must be happy to be going back to Chicago hm?” Taeyong asked even though he already knew the answer.

“Yeah…”Johnny sighed.

“Is something wrong?” Taeyong asked, noting how Johnny had sighed as he spoke.

“Yeah, just thinking of all I have to get done before I leave for the airport in a few hours.” Johnny replied.

“Want some help?” Taeyong asked as he placed a bookmark into the pages of his book and set it on his nightstand.

“Sure, could you run to the bathroom and grab me the toiletry bag I left on the counter please?” Johnny asked.

“Of course.” Taeyong replied as he hopped off his bed.

      Taeyong left the room as went to retrieve the bag Johnny had asked him to get. Johnny sighed and mindlessly ran his fingertips over a maroon Moleskine pocket journal he had on his bed… He shook his head, he shouldn’t be thinking about all of that quite yet… He didn’t want to give away anything until he was absolutely certain. A few minutes later Taeyong popped back into the room and handed Johnny the bag.

“Here you go, you forgot toothpaste so I put in an unused travel one that I had in one of my drawers.” Taeyong smiled.

      Johnny returned the smile.

“Thanks Yong, always so helpful~” Johnny praised.

      Taeyong blushed in embarrassment and waved him off mumbling how it was nothing and that Johnny didn’t need to thank him. Johnny laughed and shook his head before returning to methodically packing his bag.

  
      A few hours had passed and once again Taeyong was disturbed from his reading by the sounds coming from the other side of the room. He looked up and saw Johnny pulling the retracting handle from the suitcase before slinging his backpack onto his shoulders.

“Suitcase...Backpack…” Johnny mumbled to himself.

      Johnny reached behind him and patted his back left pocket.

“Wallet…” He mumbled after feeling its presence in his pocket.

“Hmm keys...passport...phone...yeah...all set.” Johnny nodded to himself.

“Leaving?” Taeyong asked.

“Yeah, might as well… better to be early than to be late…” Johnny shrugged.

“I’ll walk you out.” Taeyong stated firmly as he slyly took the handle of Johnny’s suitcase from his hold.

“Hey wait!” Johnny laughed.

      The two walked down to the bus stop and waited for the bus to pull up. About ten minutes later the bus wheezed to a halt in front of them. Taeyong handed Johnny his suitcase and looked up at him.

“Take care of yourself okay?... We need you…” Taeyong said firmly.

“I will don’t worry~” Johnny smiled.

“Alright…” Taeyong said before wrapping the taller boy in a tight hug.

“Have a safe flight, text when you land okay? Don’t mind the time difference.” Taeyong said as he patted Johnny’s back.

“I will~ You worry too much TY~” Johnny teased with a laugh as he hugged him back.

      They broke away from each other and Johnny hefted his suitcase up and boarded the bus, waving to Taeyong from the window after he had sat down. Taeyong smiled and waved back, watching as the bus doors closed and the vehicle pulled away and started off down the road.

  
      Almost an hour had passed and the bus had pulled up into one of the drop off lanes at the airport. Johnny grabbed his suitcase and walked off the bus. He entered the airport and checked his bag before heading off to security. A little while later he was finally seated at his gate with an iced americano and his headphones playing music into his ears. He pulled the maroon Moleskine pocket journal from his jacket pocket and opened it… Inside were several entries he had written about all the information he had found on his search for the deities and his own deity and past… But the most recent entries held much more… tucked into the pages of his most recent entries were some folded old and yellowing newspaper clippings… Johnny ran his fingers over them before pulling one of them out and unfolding it…

 

 

> **_“Tragic Gas Leak and Fuse Burst Sends House Up In Flames… Man Sacrifices Himself to Save Family…”_ **

 

 

> _  
> September 17th, 1982  
>  _

 

> _  
> In a tragic series of events, a young Chicago family is left scarred and devastated… Officials have concluded that there had been a gas leak and a fuse burst in the family’s home the night of the incident, investigators have deduced that the gas leak had been behind the stove, the same stove that blew a fuse on the night of September 15th. Members of the family in the house were Andrew Kim (28), Allison Kim (26), Rachel Kim (4) and Evan Kim (10 months). Husband and father Andrew Kim made certain that his wife and children were in complete and total safety before even once thinking of himself. Rachel Kim said “He was an incredible man...I loved him with my entire soul and being...he always put the children and myself before him in everything...my husband...he was a wonderful man…” Tragically, Andrew Kim did not make it out of the house… Fire investigators say he had been upstairs before the second floor gave in and came crashing down… Mr. Andrew Kim died a hero that day at the tender age of 28… may he rest in peace and his heroic and selfless nature live on….  
>  _

      Johnny felt his chest tighten reading it all over again… though he had no connection to these people now… they were his family in a past life...he felt horrible that they had to see his past self leave from this world that way… Johnny sighed and folded the clipping back up and tucked it into the journal. Not too long after his flight number was called and the passengers all boarded the flight.

  
      Thirteen hours later and Johnny’s flight was pulling into the gate at the Chicago O’Hare International Airport. The captain came over the intercom…

“Thank you for flying with us today, we hope you’ve enjoyed your flight and welcome to beautiful Chicago Illinois.” The captain said before hanging up the intercom phone.

      Johnny remained seated, slightly frowning in mild irritation as everyone rushed to grab their carry-ons from the overhead compartments. Johnny being very tall opted to remain seated so as not to have to contort his tall frame to hunch over the seats while people crowded the aisles. Once the massive flood of people had subsided he got up from his seat and slung his backpack onto his shoulders and exited the plane. Upon leaving the gate he quickly made his way down to baggage claim and waited by the carousel for his suitcase to appear. Once he spotted his suitcase, he grabbed it and picked it up…

“Johnny!~” a voice called from behind him.

      Johnny turned around and saw his parents approaching him with bright smiles. They had taken the flight the day before him and had told him that they would pick him up from the airport. He felt his heart swell and he beamed at them and rushed towards them and wrapped them in a tight hug.

“Mom! Dad!~” Johnny shouted happily.

“Oh sweetheart I’m so happy you’re flight home was safe!” His mother cooed at him.

“You’re looking well son.” HIs father said as he clapped his back.

“It’s great to see you guys~” Johnny smiled brightly.

“Come on darling! Your grandmother is over the moon excited to see you!~” his mother said as she tugged on his arm.

      The three of them walked to the airport parking garage and got into the car and headed off towards Johnny’s grandmother’s home.

  
      After driving for a while Johnny’s father pulled into the oh so familiar driveway of his grandmother’s townhouse. Johnny got out of the car and went around to the back of the car to grab his suitcase from the trunk when all of a sudden he heard a soft cry of joy.

“Ohhhh! Oh oh oh! Is that my boy?!” his grandmother called out from the front stoop of her townhouse.

      Johnny smiled as he closed the trunk and stepped out from behind the car and into view.

“Hi halmoni~” He smiled at his grandmother.

“Ohhh! My sweet boy!” she beamed at him before rushing down the stairs to hug him tightly.

“Halmoni has missed you so much Youngho!”  she smiled as she hugged her grandson tightly.

“I missed you too halmoni~” Johnny smiled before kissing the top of his grandmother’s head.

“Come come! Inside inside! I made bulgogi and seaweed soup!” his grandmother urges everyone into her townhouse.

  
      A few hours had passed and Johnny found himself changing into a plain white tee shirt and a pair or loose baggy black sweatpants, running a hand through his hair with a yawn. A knock was heard at the door of the room he was staying in. Johnny looked up and saw his grandmother leaning against the doorframe.

“Oh, halmoni...is everything alright? Do you need help with something?” Johnny asked politely.

“No no, halmoni just wants to see how her favorite grandson is doing~” she smiled.

      Johnny smiled at her and sat down on the foot of the bed and patted the empty space beside him. She shuffled in and sat down next to him taking his hands in hers.

“How is living in Korea?” She asked.

“It’s going very well! I’ve met many many people...made many friends.” Johnny replied.

“I knew you would...you always were so good at making friends.” She smiled.

“How is university?” She asked.

“It’s going really well! I love it there.” Johnny said.

“Good good…” She nodded.

      She squeezed his hands a bit tighter…

“Youngho-ah...how are your powers?...” She asked more seriously this time.

“Halmoni, remember how I told you my friend who controls ice and I found a journal...well that journal has a sister book with much more information in it and even has united Taeyong and I to our deities… it has also brought us to others who are just like us…” Johnny explained.

“So you met your deity hm?” his grandmother smiled softly.

“Yes halmoni, that’s why my hair now looks a bit different… apparently we are all supposed to undergo a change once we meet our deities…” Johnny explained.

      She nodded and hummed.

“My boy, I am so proud of you you know that right?” She smiled up at her grandson.

“Yes halmoni, I know~” Johnny smiled.

“I love you Youngho-ah~” she said as she kissed his forehead and moved to leave the room.

“I love you too halmoni.” he replied with a soft smile as he watched his grandmother leave the room.

      With that, Johnny stood up from the bed and closed the door to the room before making his way back over to the bed, pulling back the covers and sliding into the bed. Johnny reached over to the lamp on the bedside table and switched it off before drifting off to sleep.

      A few days had passed and Johnny had decided today was going to be a day he just had some time to himself… He had eaten breakfast, washed his face, gotten dressed, and grabbed his backpack. He made his way downstairs and informed his parents and grandmother that he was going out for the day… They all bid him goodbye and with that he was out the door. Johnny pulled the moleskine from his pocket and opened it, glancing at the folded newspaper clippings… He inhaled and released a deep breath, and he was on his way, just wandering the streets of Chicago.

      Two hours later he found himself in a fairly quiet suburban neighborhood… He took in the sights of the houses that stood along the street on either side of him… then one caught his attention… He paused in front of it… It was a quaint two story home with a brick face and paneled sides...nothing extraordinary but he just felt drawn to it for some odd reason… Johnny cocked his head slightly and narrowed his eyes at the house that stood before him…

“Mmm...127 Cherry Lane... she’s an interesting one…” A voice spoke up from behind Johnny.

      Johnny turned around and saw an elderly man standing at the foot of his driveway on the other side of the street, closing his mailbox.

“Pardon me sir?...” Johnny asked in confusion.

“127 Cherry Lane, that’s the house you’re standing in front of son… I said she’s an interesting one… always grabs the attention of visitors… even if they don’t know her history…” the elderly man spoke.

“History?” Johnny asked, now turning around to fully face the man.

“It’s not a famous story, so no famous lore here… but I’ve lived here my whole adult life kid… I know exactly what happened in that house…” the man said.

“What exactly happened sir?” Johnny asked, his heart rate beginning to quicken.

“That’s not the original house there son… there used to be a different house there entirely… a young family lived there… the Kim’s...but in 1981, there was a house fire… the father ...didn’t make it out alive… left his wife a widow and his two children without their daddy…” the man sighed as he scratched the back of his neck.

      Johnny felt his blood run cold as he glanced back at the house… He turned back to the man.

“Do you know what happened to the family?...The wife?...The kids?...” Johnny asked.

“The wife was absolutely heartbroken...she couldn’t bear to stay in the house after it was rebuilt. They moved away, kids grew up...got jobs, if I’m remembering correctly think the son Evan works in business like his father did...and the daughter, Rachel...she’s a teacher now…” The man said.

      Johnny couldn’t believe it… of all the places he could’ve ended up on his walk around Chicago...he ended up at the house he had lived in in a past life…

“Thank you…” Johnny mumbled as he looked back at the house…

“Of course...have a nice day son…” the elderly man spoke before walking back into his own house.

      Johnny shook his head to bring himself back to reality and blinked at the house once more before turning on his heels and starting off towards his grandmother’s townhouse…

  
     That night at dinner Johnny was so out of it he had barely touched his food.

“John sweetie?...Are you alright?...” His mother asked him, gently placing her hand over his forearm.

“Hm?...Oh yeah… yeah I’m alright mom~” He smiled at her.

“Are you sure sweetie?” she asked.

“Of course mom~” he reassured, squeezing her hand.

      With that dinner was cleared and everyone continued their night in silence…

  
      Then just as soon as it had started, the week had come to a close and Johnny and his parents were about to head to Chicago O’Hare International Airport to fly back to Korea… Johnny zipped his suitcase shut and carried it down to the foyer of his grandmother’s townhouse. Johnny’s grandmother stood by the front door before Johnny’s parents hugged her goodbye. Johnny waited until they had started heading to the car before leaning down and hugging his grandmother.

“Goodbye halmoni...I love you…” Johnny said as he hugged her tightly.

“I love you too Youngho-ah” His grandmother spoke as she placed a kiss to his forehead

       Johnny grabbed his suitcase and pulled it behind him as he walked outside. His grandmother stood on her front stoop as she watched Johnny and his parents get into the rental car and pull away. Not too long after they had left they were pulling into the airport and on their way back to Korea.

      After a long 13 hour flight their flight pulled into the gate at the Incheon Airport and Johnny and his parents collected their things and exited the plane. The three of them chatted as they walked down to baggage claim to grab their bags.

“John sweetie, are you sure you don’t need a ride back to your campus?” his mother asked him.

“I’m okay mom, Taeyong said he’d meet me here…” Johnny smiled.

“Aw my baby boy is all grown up…” she cooed.

      Johnny leaned down and hugged her tightly as he kissed her forehead.

“I love you mom…” he spoke softly as he held her close.

      Johnny and his mother broke away from each other and his father patted his back before hugging him as well.

“Take care of yourself son.” his father said as he ruffled Johnny’s hair.

      Johnny laughed and hugged him tight.

“I will dad…” Johnny said as he pulled away from his father.

      With that his parents started walking towards the doors, both stopping just before them to wave back at their son one last time before leaving. Johnny smiled and pulled his suitcase alongside him towards a bench, sitting down as he waited for Taeyong to arrive.

  
      Fifteen minutes later a pair of black Vans stood in front of him, Johnny looked up and saw their owner was indeed his roommate Taeyong who was standing over him with a smile.

“Hey, welcome back!” Taeyong greeted warmly.

“Thanks Yong…” Johnny smiled tiredly.

“Here I figured you’d be needing this by the time I got to you.” Taeyong said as he held out an iced americano to Johnny.

      Johnny took it graciously and took a long sip.

“Ah thank you so much Taeyong, you know me so well huh?” Johnny said with a laugh as he stood up.

“Ready to go?” Taeyong asked.

“Yeah.” Johnny replied.

      The two of them headed out to the parking garage where Johnny’s car, which Taeyong had driven to the airport, was parked. Taeyong opened the trunk for Johnny, and Johnny placed his suitcase inside of it before getting into the passenger’s seat since he was too tired and jet lagged to drive back.

“So how was Chicago?” Taeyong asked as he got into the driver’s seat and fastened his seatbelt.

“It was nice...It was nice to see old friends and family.” Johnny replied.

      Taeyong hummed in response as he shifted the car into reverse and backed out of the parking spot he had parked the car in. He switched into drive and started to pull away out of the garage.

“How was your halmoni?” Taeyong asked.

“She was great, very happy to see us.” Johnny replied.

      Taeyong briefly glanced over as he pulled onto the highway.

“Now I could be wrong and you might just be exhausted and jet lagged but...are you okay Johnny?” Taeyong asked worriedly.

      Johnny sighed and pulled the maroon moleskine from his jacket.

“A few weeks ago I found a clipping from a newspaper about how I died in my past life… that in itself was kind of hard to see...but I went for a walk around my hometown a few days ago and you wouldn’t believe it but...I unknowingly ended up in front of the house I lived in in my past life…” Johnny explained.

“Oh...Johnny...I’m so sorry...a-are you okay?...” Taeyong asked worriedly.

“Yeah...I’m alright, I just still can’t believe that of all the places I could’ve ended up on my walk...I ended up in front of one of the only remaining pieces of my past life.” Johnny mused.

“Yeah...that is crazy… do you think maybe Ignisium subconsciously guided you towards it?” Taeyong asked.

“That’s what I’ve been wondering...but regardless of what it may have been...I’m glad I saw it…” Johnny said, finally having the weight of keeping this inside off his chest.

“I’m glad to hear it...why don’t you close your eyes for a bit. I’ll wake you when we get back.” Taeyong suggested.

“Yeah that sounds like a good idea.” Johnny replied with a yawn.

      Thus, Johnny leaned his head against the window and dozed off while Taeyong drove them back to their campus…

  



	20. Chapter 60: "Turning Over A New Leaf..."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> **PLEASE READ!!!**
> 
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> Hello everyone! I've been waiting to do this chapter for a while and it's finally here... Mark's graduation chapter... This is a special chapter for a few reasons... First of all it's a reference to Mark graduating from Dream (although I've been thinking about doing a separate other mini work dedicated to Mark and his time with Dream for a while but we'll see...) and that in itself is very special because as you know Markie was Dream's leader...and their hyung... With the exceptions of Renjun and Chenle who came to know the rest of Dream later... Mark has known Dream since they were really really young... NCT as a whole is like family... but having watched all of NCT since the very first day of Rookies... I think Dream has some of the closest bonds in all of NCT... That's one of the reasons I wanted to really highlight this moment... The other reason why this chapter is so special to me... is because it's dedicated to my own younger friends whom I had to leave behind when I graduated high school last spring... Yes I see them and we text and are still very close... but because I am away at college, even if my college isn't super far from my home town... I still don't see them as often as I used to and I certainly don't see them everyday at school in the hallways like I used to... So with that I'd like to dedicate this chapter to my beloved younger friends whom I still adore and cherish...
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> _For B.A and E.K. ... I love you both so much...and I always will..._
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> Thank you for reading this, I hope you enjoy this chapter and can see why it's so special to me~  
> Forever Your Author,  
> ~Kensley

      Spring break had long passed, the seasons had turned over, April had drawn to a close and May had entered in. For the college kids of the group, they had taken their finals and had finished up their semester and started their summer vacation. The younger boys of the group still had two more days left to go before finishing up their school year...Finals Week… Because of this, everyone had began to feel the eagar growing pining for vacation grow that much stronger. Chenle whined from where he sat at the table in the study in the back of the Neo City Café, lightly hitting his head against his biology textbook.

“I don’t wanna study anymore! My head hurts!” he whined, pouting at the textbook in his hands.

“Come on Chenle-ah, I promised you could take a break after forty minutes of studying, you have ten minutes left.” Renjun said as he looked up from his own study materials.

      Chenle pouted and sighed a soft whine through his nose as he lifted his head off the table and re-opened his textbook and going back to annotating the text. At least he had his loving hyungs helping him study… Jeno laughed softly seeing the pitiful pout that had been spread across Chenle’s face.

“Chenle-ah, don’t look so sad!~ It’s not like you.” Jeno teased.

“But I don’t wanna take my finals!” Chenle sulked.

“I know you don’t, but you have all of your hyungs to help you~ So it shouldn’t be too bad right?” Jeno encouraged.

“Yeah...I guess…” Chenle sighed in resignation.

  
      Meanwhile in the main area of the café, the older boys who were on shift were busy filling orders and keeping the café running effortlessly... However, Mark was not with them behind the counter like he normally was… Instead, Mark sat at a high top table not too far from the main counter, uniform apron draped over the back of the stool he was sitting in, eyes laser focused in on the textbook that sat in front of him, and the end of his highlighter gently tapping his lower lip as he scanned over the texts that laid before him. Johnny glanced over in his direction as he finished pouring steamed milk into the drink he was making. He felt a surge of pride in his heart as he watched how diligently Mark was working...he really had grown up a lot in the past year since Johnny had met him… Johnny chuckled lightly to himself and shook his head as he handed the latte to the customer waiting at the drink pickup. After he had given the customer their drink he had gone back and mixed up a drink. Johnny carried it out from behind the counter and walked to where Mark sat and set the drink down in front of the younger. Mark looked up at him quizzically. Johnny laughed and ruffled the younger’s hair.

“You’re working your ass off Mark, I thought you could use a little pick me up...it’s watermelon frozen lemonade…” Johnny smiled and nudged the drink closer to Mark.

      Mark smiled.

“Thanks hyung~” Mark thanked him graciously.

“How’s studying going?” Johnny asked, sitting down at the stool across from Mark.

“It’s going well...I really want to be done with it but I can’t... even though I’ve been accepted into college I still want to do really well on my exams.” Mark mused as he pinched the bridge of his nose.

“That’s reasonable, which final are you taking tomorrow?” Johnny asked, resting his chin on the palm of his hand.

“I have my last final tomorrow, which is Calculus… I don’t have class Friday since the seniors are supposed to attend a Senior breakfast then run through the graduation ceremony placing and stuff like that.” Mark explained as he reached for the drink and took a long sip.

“Are you excited to graduate?” Johnny asked with a sparkle of secondhand excitement for the younger gleaming in his eyes.

“Yes and no… I’m excited to start college and see you and the other hyungs even more every day than just at work and in the study, but...I’m going to miss the dongsaengs… I mean, Haechan, Jeno, and then Jaemin were my first friends… and not just my first friends when I moved to Korea… they were my first friends ever… everyone ignored me back home in Canada… and I wasn’t just their friend… I was their hyung… and then Renjun and the kids- I-I mean Chenle and Jisung came along… I was their hyung too… someone they look up too…” Mark spoken softly as he toyed with his straw.

“That’s totally normal Mark...Jaehyun was one of my first friends when I moved to Korea, Jaehyun is a grade below me, I had to leave him behind for a little bit when I graduated high school… But I still saw him everyday when I got a job here...and now he’s in college with me again and if I hadn’t gone through with all of that I would have probably never met Taeyong, and we would have probably never found the journal… our lives would be completely different… You have it a bit easier because you work at the café which the younger boys visit almost daily and you have all your hyungs who are going to be in college with you~ You just have to trust the universe and know that everything will work out and this isn’t the end of things… it’s a new chapter of your life…” Johnny reassured him with a gentle warm smile.

      Mark sighed and nodded.

“You’re right...but I’ll still miss seeing them at school… I’ll miss our lunch periods spent in the chorus room and the courtyard… I’ll miss passing them in the halls between classes… I’ll miss Chenle’s loud morning greetings… I’ll miss Jisung asking me for help on things during study hall… I’ll miss Jeno’s smile and terrible jokes… I’ll miss Jaemin’s optimism and bright nature...I’ll miss Renjun’s sarcastic jokes… and I’ll miss playing guitar in the practice rooms for Donghyuck when he wants to practice his solos…” Mark lamented.

      Johnny remained quiet, his eyes softening as he picked up on how this was clearly stuff Mark had been bottling up and was now letting spill out of him like a broken floodgate...

“I know I’ll still see them at the café and I’ll have you and the other hyungs when I move into college...but the whole thing...it just feels so much worse than what it actually is…” Mark said biting his lip.

“Markie...it’s okay to feel sad! Those are all normal things to miss! The boys are very special to you… they were your first real friends and your first dongsaengs...they hold and incredibly special place in your heart, and now you have to give up seeing them as often as you have been for the past two years… no one expects you to be perfectly okay with that, it’s okay! But what’s not okay is bottling it up and letting it eat at you… I’ve told you countless times before, you can always alway ALWAYS come to me or one of the other hyungs and talk to us about anything… we won’t ever judge you or make you feel like what you’re feeling is invalid or irrational. Just like how you feel towards your dongsaengs, is how we all feel about you Markie.” Johnny said reassuringly as he reached across the table and rubbed Mark’s shoulder.

      Mark quickly swiped at his eyes, which had grown misty, with the sleeve of his shirt and then took a deep breath and nodded.

“You gonna be okay Mark?” Johnny asked gently.

“Yeah...I’ll save the tears for my actual graduation…” Mark laughed.

“There you go~” Johnny smiled as he patted Mark’s shoulder.

“Yell if you need anything okay?” Johnny said as he stood up from his seat and turned to head back to working behind the counter.

“Okay hyung, thank you.” Mark thanked him graciously.

  
      The two days that followed flew by in the blink of an eye...the school year was officially over and summer had begun for the younger boys of the group.. More importantly though… Mark’s graduation day had arrived. Normally high schoolers wouldn’t spend their first day of summer vacation waking up early to get ready to go out somewhere but this was no ordinary day… They were getting ready for Mark’s graduation ceremony… As for the older boys, they too were getting ready to celebrate their golden dongsaeng… Jaehyun and his mother had even closed the café for the day so none of the older boys who worked there had to miss it…  
      Mark stood in front of his bathroom mirror, zipping up his graduation gown and donning all his honors and achievement cords he had earned… he glanced out into his room where his graduation cap was lying neatly on his bed… he walked over to it and picked it up and brought it back to his bathroom. Mark turned it over in his hands, his slim fingers gently running through the threads of the tassel that adorned the top of the cap… He looked up at his reflection in the mirror and took a deep breath before placing the cap on his head. Mark smoothed out the fabric of his gown and nodded before turning the bathroom light off and closing the door. He left his bedroom and headed downstairs where his mother and father were waiting for him downstairs. His mother caught sight of him and cooed.

“Oh Markie sweetie! You look so grown up!” She cried.

“Mom...don’t start crying yet!” Mark laughed softly as he wrapped her in a hug.

“I’m just so proud of you baby…” she gushed.

“You look wonderful son, I’m so proud of you...we both are…” Mark’s father smiled at him.

“Thanks dad…” Mark smiled.

“You ready to go?” his father asked.

“Yeah, I’m ready…” Mark replied.

      With that Mark and his parents headed out to their car and drove off towards Hyeon-Jeong High School…

  
      After they had parked Mark hugged them both before splitting off from them to go where he was supposed to be for the ceremony… He joined his classmates in a large room where he took his assigned seat for the ceremony and waited… After what felt like an eternity one of the coordinators came and informed them that it was time to line up for the ceremony procession. The students did as they were told and Mark felt his heart rate spike a little bit… he was graduating… The ceremony music began to play and the students processed into the auditorium and took their seats.  
      The principal stood and gave his speech, followed by the class Valedictorian...then the time had come for each student to be called for their diploma… Mark felt his palms grow sweaty as he patiently waited for his name to be called…

“Lee Minhyung…” the Vice Principal called from the microphone on stage.

      Mark took a deep breath and rose from his seat, and walked up onto the stage, bowing to the Principal and shaking his hand before receiving his diploma. Mark heard a loud wave of cheers from the auditorium. He saw his classmates glance around behind them to see who exactly was cheering so loudly for Mark… They were all surprised to see so many people clapping for Mark… Wasn’t Mark the odd quiet loner kid?...Why were so many people here for him? They wondered… Mark saw this and felt warmth bloom in his heart… He left the stage and returned to his seat, paying no attention to the stares and whispers being cast his way.  
      The ceremony came to a close and the graduates began to process out of the auditorium… Mark made his way out of the auditorium and out to the courtyard where all the other graduates stood waiting for their families to come and find them.

“You must have a huge family if all those people were cheering for you…” A short girl with short curled dark hair with dark teal dyed ends he recognized from his literature class that year said with a smile as she walked by.

      Mark smiled at the thought of all his friends and his parents out in the auditorium… they really were his family...

“Yeah, I do…” Mark smiled.

“Well congratulations Minhyung… I hope you do well in college.” she smiled politely before walking off to join her parents.

      Mark smiled, then was suddenly lifted off his feet and placed up on someone’s shoulders, Mark gasped in surprise but broke out into laughter when he looked down and saw that it was Johnny holding him up on his shoulders.

“We’re so proud of you Mark!” Johnny yelled enthusiastically.

“Yeah, we are… congratulations Mark-ah” Taeyong smiled up at him proudly.

      Mark blushed at the praise and laughed in embarrassment.

“Ah hyung...you’re too much…” Mark said to Johnny who was finally letting him down off his shoulders.

“That’s why I’m so much fun to be around!~” Johnny replied with a wink.

      Mark stood there smiling at all his friends in front of him, that’s when he noticed that his dongsaengs were standing closer in front of  him than his hyungs were… This is when the emotions came flooding over him. Tears filled his eyes and gently rolled down his cheeks.

“Aigoo~ Don’t cry…” Taeyong cooed as he rushed towards the younger and gently rubbed his back.

“I’m sorry...it just really hit me just now...I’m done with high school…” Mark spoke between his tears.

      Jisung and Chenle who both were teary-eyed through the whole ceremony broke into tears as well and ran to Mark, both hugging him tightly.

“We’re gonna miss you hyung…” Chenle mumbled.

“It’s not fair…” Jisung pouted.

      Mark held his dongsaengs close to him and rubbed their backs…

“Hey...hey… it’s okay! Look! Hyung is still here right? You’ll still see me! After all we have a whole summer together before college starts, and I’ll still be working at the café… hyung will always be here for you… I’m just a call or text away okay?” Mark said reassuringly.

      Chenle and Jisung pulled away from him, drying their eyes and stepping back… Next were Jeno and Renjun… Renjun kept his gaze downcast to try and hide that he was crying, while Jeno let his tears fall freely as he smiled at Mark. Mark opened his arms to them and they both hugged him tight.

“Thank you for always being to supportive and kind to me hyung…” Renjun sobbed into his chest.

“Thank you for all your help over the years… and for always cheering me up…” Jeno smiled at him through his tears.

      Mark hugged them tight before letting them go… Next Jaemin walked up to him biting his lip and messing with his fingers...not fully ready to look up and meet Mark’s eyes just yet…

“Jaemin-ah…” Mark choked out…

      That’s all it took to send Jaemin sprinting to him and hugging him tightly.

“Thank you Mark hyung… for always caring for me… especially when I broke my ankle… thank you for always listening to me and for always helping me with my homework when I didn’t understand it…” Jaemin spoke softly…

      Mark hugged him and rubbed his back, before letting go of the younger… Lastly… Donghyuck slowly walked up to him, tears bubbling in his eyes, biting his lip to prevent himself from sobbing…

“Hyuck…” Mark called softly…

      Donghyuck latched onto his boyfriend tightly and cried into his chest…

“Hyuck...look at me… You were my first friend… you helped me come out of my shell… you introduced me to Jeno, and Jaemin...then Renjun, Jisung and Chenle came along… I should be thanking you if anything… Now you’re one of my best friends as well as my incredibly talented, and amazing boyfriend…” Mark said with a tearful smile.

“You’re not going to forget about me in college right?...” Donghyuck pouted up at Mark.

“Hyuck you wouldn’t let me forget you even if I wanted to.” Mark said with a laugh.

“Thank you Mark… for everything…” Donghyuck smiled…

      Mark kissed his forehead before moving Haechan to stand by his side so Mark could keep an arm around his waist. Mark looked at his hyungs…

“Taeil hyung...Yuta hyung… Winwin hyung... Kun hyung.... Doyoung hyung… Jungwoo hyung… Ten hyung…  Johnny hyung… Taeyong hyung… Jaehyun hyung… and Lucas… thank you for being by my side… Kun hyung, Jungwoo hyung, and Lucas… we may have not known each other long but that doesn’t make either of you any less special to me… thank you for all the memories we have made together...let’s continue to make many more…” Mark said graciously before bowing to them…

      The group of friends all smiled and wrapped Mark up in one large group hug…

  
      Though there were some things that Mark would have to leave behind… he knew in his heart that he couldn’t ever lose the friendships or special bonds he had built with the seventeen boys that stood before him in this moment… Yes he had graduated but that didn’t change a whole lot… It was just the closing of one door and the opening of another one… all that was left to do was walk through that door and begin the next chapter of his life… And he wasn’t afraid… because he had the most amazing friends in the whole world by his side waiting to continue their own life journeys alongside him… A new leaf had been turned over and many more adventures laid in store...

  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> You reached the end of the chapter!~ Let me know what you think!!! Also I'm curious~ who do you all think is going to be the next one to meet their deity?~ Tell me in the comments!


	21. Chapter 61: "Summertime Splendor..."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Wow three chapters in one day? Yup I had some free time and a quiet place to work in all day so I've been writing all day!   
> I hope you all like the chapter! Let me know what you think and also let me know who you think is going to be the next person to meet their deity~
> 
> Forever Your Author,  
> ~Kensley

      It had been a little over a week since Mark’s graduation and since the younger boys had finished their school year. Summer had officially come for all of them. The boys who worked at the café had been working longer shifts now that they didn’t have classes, while the boys who didn’t work at the café had spent their time relaxing and relishing in the free time they had at their disposal now...  
      It Wednesday...a little past 3:00 pm, the café had fallen into a quiet lull, leaving the boys on shift with no business for the time being. Taeyong busied himself by wiping down tables with Jaehyun… Yuta and Winwin were sitting at one of the high top tables together and chatting quietly... Johnny was leaning over the front counter, lazily scrolling through his phone… Doyoung was reading a book at one of the drink bars… and Mark was sweeping the floors on the other side of the café… Nothing extraordinary… just a lazy quiet shift… that was until the front door of the café slammed open and Lucas walked in with Jungwoo and Kun… Doyoung startled at the sound and shot Lucas a look…

“Lucas...could you maybe try to not break the door off its hinges?” Doyoung sighed.

“Haha! Sorry hyung!” Lucas laughed as he scratched the back of his neck.

      Doyoung rolled his eyes trying to hide his smile, and turned his attention back to his book.

“Man… this is depressing…” Lucas sighed as he stared at the empty café and the obviously bored boys who were on shift.

“Oh it’s not that bad Xuxi...it’s just a quiet period…” Winwin said from where he was sitting.

“It looks so boring though…” Lucas pouted.

“I mean...yeah but we’re getting paid…” Mark said as he wiped beads of sweat from his brow.

“We should do something fun!” Lucas suggested.

“Like what?” Johnny asked, perking up from where he was slumped over the counter.

“I dunno… something fun...as a whole group or something…” Lucas replied.

“Why don’t we have a game day and picnic or something like that?” Mark suggested, leaning on the broom he was holding.

“That’s not a bad idea…” Jaehyun mused from where he stood by one of the tables.

“Well why don’t we do that then?!~” Lucas asked excitedly.

      The other boys laughed at his excitement.

“I think that sounds like a great idea~ Why don’t we plan for Friday? We’ll close the shop up early, and I can bring food from the shop for dinner…” Jaehyun suggested.

      The others nodded in agreement.

“This is going to be so much fun!~” Lucas shouted happily.

“I’ll text the groupchat to let the other boys know.” Johnny said with a smile before typing up the text and sending it to their groupchat.

      It was settled, the café would close early on Friday and the group of eighteen friends would have a game day and picnic dinner together in Seoul Forest Park… With that the boys now had their first organized group get together of the summer.

  
      The next day was spent in almost agonizing anticipation, but finally Friday had arrived and it was almost time for the boys on shift to lock up the café… They made quick work of cleaning up for the day and getting all the routine tasks completed and squared away, and the last customer had gotten up and left. The boys internally cheered as she left the café. Jaehyun made his way towards the door and locked it. Johnny and Taeyong got to work on lowering the blinds and shutting off the lights. The boys exited out the back and locked that door as well before setting off for Seoul Forest Park.

      When they arrived at the park they were greeted by the sight of their friends enjoying the warm sunny weather. Lucas, Kun, and Haechan were throwing a frisbee around together… Taeil, Jungwoo, and Ten were all sprawled out on some of the many blankets the boys had brought and laid on the grass… Jeno, Renjun, Chenle, Jisung, and Jaemin were kicking a soccer ball around with each other. Though once Jaemin had caught sight of Yuta he quickly sprinted over to him and took his hand dragging him over to their impromptu soccer game.

“Come on Yuta hyung! We need one more to even it out! And I want you on my team!” Jaemin said as he flashed his hyung a bright beaming smile.

      And what was Yuta supposed to say to that? No?... Of course not! He loved his dongsaengs and he was a soccer player after all. Suddenly Chenle whined loudly.

“Aw no fair! How come you guys get Yuta hyung?!” Chenle pouted at Jaemin and Jeno who now had Yuta on their team.

“Because we have two players and you have three!~” Jeno smirked.

“But Yuta hyung is a real soccer player! That’s gotta be breaking some kind of rule!” Chenle defended.

“Sorry Lele!~ But there isn’t~” Yuta shot back with a smile.

      The others had noticed that the others had arrived. Lucas came sprinting over.

“Did you guys bring the food?!” Lucas asked them excitedly.

      They laughed at the question they had been expecting from him. Jaehyun raised the large wicker picnic basket chest up a little higher.

“Of course, hungry?” Jaehyun asked.

“Always!” Lucas shouted with a laugh.

      Jaehyun carried the basket chest over to the grouping of blankets and set it down. He unlatched the front of it and reached inside, pulling a sandwich out and handing it to Lucas.

“Thanks hyung!!!!” Lucas said with a bright smile.

      Ten lowered his sunglasses and looked up at the others who had just arrived and smiled.

“About time you guys showed up.” Ten teased them.

“Yah it’s not our fault we have a job to do.” Doyoung teased back.

“I have a job and you know it!” Ten playfully shouted at him.

“Yeah yeah I know, dance coach we get it.” Doyoung waved him off playfully as he sat down and pulled his book from his bag, picking up where he had left off.

      Haechan came jogging up to them, he kissed Mark’s cheek before turning and grabbing Johnny’s hand dragging him out to the open area.

“Come on hyung! I want to throw a football with you! You brought it right?” Haechan asked excitedly.

      Johnny laughed as he pulled the item from his bag.

“Of course I did~” Johnny smiled warmly at the younger.

      Johnny looked back over his shoulder at Jaehyun with a bright smile before calling out to him.

“Yo Jae! Come on man I know you want to play too!” Johnny called out to him.

      Jaehyun smiled and kissed Taeyong’s cheek before heading off to join Johnny and Haechan. Mark, Taeyong, and Winwin looked at each other…

“Well we just got our boyfriends stolen from us...so might as well do something together right?” Mark suggested.

"The multipurpose net over there is open, and you brought your badminton gear right?” Winwin offered.

      Mark nodded.

“Hmm we need one other person…” Mark mused.

“Jungwoo, want to join us for badminton? Two on two?” Winwin asked.

“Sure!” Jungwoo smiled as he got up from where he was sitting.

      Mark, Jungwoo, Winwin and Taeyong each took a racket and split off into teams. Mark and Winwin v.s Taeyong and Jungwoo.

  
      A few hours had gone by and the sun had started to set… The group of friends had finally felt worn out enough to take a break from their activities and sit down to eat. Everyone grabbed a sandwich and sat down. Chenle flopped down on the blanket with a sigh.

“I still can’t believe we beat you twice! And you guys had Yuta hyung!” Chenle laughed as he nudged Jaemin.

“Lele, you guys beat us in two rounds...we won.” Jaemin said cracking a smile.

“Okay yeah but still, you didn’t win every round!” Chenle laughed before taking a bite of his sandwich.

      The large group of friends continued to chat amongst each other as they ate their food and enjoyed each other’s company. The sun had just about set, painting the sky brilliant shades of rosey pink and lavender… The boys smiled as they all stared up at the sky… Lucas smiled and held up his bottle of coke, clearing his throat.

“I’d like to propose a toast… to our friendship and to the beginning of an amazing summer!” He shouted.

      The other boys laughed and they all clicked their glass coke bottles together with one another… If this was what the summer held in store for them… then this was going to be one of the best summers any of them had ever had...

  
  



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